They Never Knew
by Rise of the Blossom
Summary: Haruno Sakura was once the most popular girl in the school, but she disappeared for eight months and nobody knows where she went or why. When she returns, it's like everyone has turned against her and it only makes what she has been through that much harder.
1. Welcome Back

**Warning: Rated 'M' for a reason.**

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><p><span><strong>They Never Knew<br>**By: Helennnn

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – Welcome Back<strong>

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Mebuki asked her daughter for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Are _you_?"

Kazashi paused briefly mid–bite, eyeing his wife and daughter carefully before continuing eating. What he didn't know was that Sakura was aware of his quick dismissal and she couldn't stop herself from gritting her teeth.

Mebuki sighed as she stood up and after reminding her daughter to eat her breakfast for the third time, she poured Kazashi more coffee and placed her own empty dishes into the sink. Then, she closed her eyes and sighed, bracing herself against the counter. "All I'm saying is that it's okay if you want to back out. There is no harm in staying at home for another couple of days."

"I'm sick of staying here!" Sakura snapped, making her mother flinch. Seeing this, she softened her tone and also sighed. "Mom, I miss my friends. I hate being stuck in the house all day because you don't want anybody to see me."

The older woman grimaced before turning and facing her small family. It was a family she had worked so hard for, a family she had always dreamed about having as a child. She had a husband who loved her and a daughter who looked up to her and adored her. Well, eight months ago she did. Of course Mebuki knew that they still loved her, but lately, they had all been drifting further and further apart.

"Sakura," Kazashi grumbled, placing his knife and fork down on his plate and standing up, "do not speak to your mother in such a way. She is only doing what she thinks is best for you."

Sakura looked unconvinced as she raised a delicate pink eyebrow at her father. "By hiding me away for all these months? Please tell me how that can _possibly_ be what is best for me."

"I wasn't–" Mebuki stopped herself mid–sentence and took a deep breath. "Please reconsider your choice, Sakura. This is a big leap and I'm not sure you're ready for this."

"Tsunade–sama thinks I'm ready." Sakura retorted as she pushed away her food and stood up. "In fact, she says that I've been ready for two whole months now, but _you_ didn't want me to leave. Why are you trying to hide me? Are you ashamed of me?"

Mebuki sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You know that I'm not ashamed of you, Sakura. It's just with the business being where it is right now, I want to keep you as close to me as possible. It only takes one phone call, you know that."

The pink haired girl averted her eyes as she chewed on her bottom lip. Indeed she did know that, all too well, in fact. Sakura took a deep breath and pushed away the negative thoughts, clearing her mind completely as she sat back down in her seat. "Don't worry about me, mom. The teachers know everything so if anything happens – not that anything _is_ going to happen – they'll be there."

"Maybe you should listen to her, Mebuki." Kazashi told his wife as he fixed his tie and pushed his chair under the table. "Who knows? Maybe going back to school will be good for her. If she wasn't ready, Tsunade–sama would not have told you that she is."

Moving forward and picking up his empty plate, Mebuki frowned. To Sakura, the frown told her that she was thinking about it, but was still closer to her own decision rather than Sakura's, whilst to Kazashi, the frown told him that he had won their little discussion. Sighing with relief, he pulled on his jacket and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"I'll be working late again tonight." he informed his family. Turning to Sakura, he gave her a smile. "Good luck today, kid. I know you'll do fine." Then, he turned to his wife again. "Mebuki, you must give our daughter more credit than that. No matter what happens, she will always be our kicker."

Kicker – that was what her parents referred to her as. It was mostly because of how much pain she had put Mebuki through during her pregnancy and labour, but it was also because Sakura had a damn good kick and could do some serious damage. Not only that, but no matter what the obstacle, Sakura was always able to overcome it. When she had broken her writing hand, she had taught herself how to write with her other and now, she had neat writing with whatever hand she wrote with. During her first year of high school, a certain girl hadn't liked how close Sakura was with a guy she liked and tried to beat her up after cutting most of her hair off. Her hair had looked awful and to make matters worse, it had to have another two or three inches taken off so it would be even, but Sakura had somehow managed to work the just below the jaw hair–do.

"Sakura!" her mother repeated herself for the third time. "If you're going to school, you need to keep focused!"

Sakura gave Mebuki an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mom, I was just thinking. What were you saying? Wait," Sakura looked around the kitchen and frowned, "where's dad?"

Mebuki rolled her eyes, but smiled at her daughter. "Your father left five minutes ago! He kissed you goodbye, but you were spaced out. And I was saying," Mebuki sighed and pushed aside her feeling of unease, "that perhaps you should go to school today. You're right. If Tsunade–sama says you're ready and you feel ready, then I'm going to support you in your decision."

"Thank you, mom." Sakura smiled more genuinely.

"However," her mother raised two fingers to her daughter, "I will only allow you to go to school on two conditions." When Sakura raised an eyebrow, silently telling her mother to go on, she did so. "First condition: I want you to take your phone. If there's an emergency or you don't think you can handle it, I want you to ring either me or Tsunade–sama, do you understand? I'll keep my phone with me all day and Tsunade–sama has told you many times before that she will always answer her phone." Then, Mebuki sighed. "Second condition: just… be safe, okay? I want to drive you to and from school – and this is not up for discussion. Am I understood?"

She thought about it for a couple of moments. In some ways, her mother's conditions seemed innocent and simple enough, but in others, Sakura couldn't help but think that perhaps her mother didn't trust her. No, Sakura knew she had violated whatever trust Mebuki had with her all those months ago and it made her chest give an uncomfortable squeeze. Instead of showing her sadness though, Sakura smiled brightly. "Deal."

"Okay." Mebuki said softly. "Now hurry up and finish your breakfast and then you can get changed."

Sakura's smile died a little. "It's okay, I'm not hung–"

"Eat, Sakura." her mother demanded before looking at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. "I will inform the school that you will be returning today and by the time I get back, I want that plate empty. And when I say empty, I do _not_ mean into the trash."

Sighing, Sakura leaned back in her chair and pushed her food around her plate. "Fine."

An hour later, Sakura was dressed in her school uniform: a navy blue, checked, pleated skirt, a plain long–sleeved white blouse that was tucked in and a plain navy tie that matched the skirt. She had made quite a few adjustments to her uniform. For starters, like most girls, Sakura had taken her skirt up a few inches so that it was just long enough to keep her covered. The two top buttons on her shirt were undone, just like they had been since her very first year in school and her tie was loose, but not loose enough that it looked ridiculous. Also, she wore white over–the–knee socks and a pair of plain black flats.

Her mother, as well as many other mothers of girls' in the school, had tried hard to get them to change the uniforms. One mother even went as far as to say the uniforms were ghastly whilst another called them unflattering. However, with a few tweaks here and there, Sakura had made her uniform look kind of hot. Well if she didn't wear the sweatshirt and blazer (which she never had), it looked sort of hot.

Picking up her black leather backpack, Sakura placed her phone, a couple of pens, house keys and purse in the bag before grabbing a jacket. It was supposed to be warm out, but it was just in case.

"_Sakura_," Mebuki called from downstairs, "_are you ready yet? You're going to be late_!"

Sakura sighed. It was almost like old times. "I'm coming!"

"_Well hurry up! I still need to speak with your headmaster and fill out a couple of forms. The rest of the school returned last week, so we need to get your timetable too._"

The teenager rolled her eyes as she gave her appearance another once over. She wouldn't admit it to her mother, but Sakura actually felt quite nervous. It had been so long since she last spoke to any of her friends – and they hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms.

Her pink hair was parted down the centre, falling around her shoulders and down her back in soft, loose curls whilst also framing her face. Sakura had spent quite a while trying to get her appearance just right. After all, it had been over eight months since she had last been seen – she had to make sure she looked good! Her stunningly green eyes were framed by long, thick black eyelashes and her upper eye lids each had a thin strip of eye liner which flicked out on the end slightly. Also, she was wearing foundation and barely tinted lip gloss.

"_Sakura_!"

She growled in annoyance, "I said _I'm coming_!"

With that said Sakura took a deep breath and left her room to go and meet her mother in the car.

The entire car ride, Sakura's stomach was doing flips and at one point, she had almost asked Mebuki to pull over.

Second thoughts flooded her mind as her school finally came into view. What if this was a mistake? What if she wasn't ready and was pushing herself too hard, too soon? After everything that had happened, would her friends even want her to come back? Did they even consider her as a friend anymore? Sakura bit down on her lower lip as her mother parked the car and pulled her keys out of the ignition. Then, the older woman pulled out a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment and put them on.

Just as she reached for the handle, Mebuki seemed to sense Sakura's hesitance and smiled softly at her daughter. Placing a hand on her leg, Mebuki spoke, "Don't be so worried, Sakura. I'm sure your friends have all missed you a lot."

"But not one of them came to the house." Sakura whispered. "They didn't come to check up on me, or ring me."

"It's okay." she spoke gently, giving Sakura's leg a soft squeeze. "You have both mine and Tsunade–sama's numbers saved, so if there are any problems at all, ring one of us."

Sakura nodded, looking back out the window as people started to enter the school. Most of them looked happy, like they hadn't a care in the world. How many of those smiles weren't real and only there to please others? How many of those people smiled and laughed like nothing mattered, just like she had done? It was a pretty scary thought.

Shaking the negative thoughts from her head, Sakura took a deep breath before nodding to her mother. She was ready. It was now or never.

The teenager forced her legs to stop shaking as she climbed out of the car before she slipped her bag over her shoulders and folded her jacket over one of her arms. Then, with the confidence only Haruno Sakura could show, she strutted into the building with her mother right behind her.

There were many shocked whispers following her as she walked through the hallways. On her way, Sakura saw many of her old friends who looked just as surprised to see her as the rest of the school. However, Sakura acknowledged no one and kept herself focused on getting to the headmaster's office. With her eyes glued onto the receptionist's glass doors and her back straight, Sakura walked with her hips dipping in an almost enticing manner.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her childhood best friend, Ino, watching her with wide eyes. Whilst they had been best friends, they had also been rivals and had competed against each other in everything. So as Sakura walked the hallways of school in a superior manner, like she hadn't a care in the world, Ino's blood started to boil – and it was obvious to everyone that the blonde wasn't too thrilled to see Haruno Sakura back in school after being away for so long.

Mebuki walked silently behind Sakura, her heels clicking against the floor as she watched her daughter through her sunglasses proudly. Even though it had been a long time since Sakura had been around so many people, she was handling the situation well and with the grace only a Haruno could manage.

As the two Haruno women finally reached the receptionist's office, Mebuki removed her sunglasses as Sakura opened the door, smiling at her mother as she allowed the older woman in first. Then, with one last glance down the hallway, Sakura's smile slipped away before she followed her and closed the door.

Whilst they walked over to the receptionist desk, Sakura could still feel everyone's stares burning into her head and back. However, she kept her back to them as her mother smiled politely at the woman at the front desk, who looked at Sakura in shock before nodding and quickly getting to work. As she pressed a button on her phone, telling the headmaster about their arrival, Sakura kept fighting back the urge to turn around.

Almost immediately, they were allowed to enter the office and Sakura was so grateful that she all but skipped to the door. When they entered and Mebuki shut the door behind them, Sakura was surprised to see that it was not only was her headmaster present, but another male who didn't seem that much older than twenty–five was present too. His hair was a strange silvery–grey colour, but it didn't look like it had turned that colour due to old age. It looked completely natural, although his eyebrows were a slightly darker colour. His eyes were dark and drooped slightly at the ends, but they crinkled as he gave her an unseen smile. Right through his left eye was a long scar and the bottom half of his face was covered by a mask.

"Haruno–san, Sakura, I would like you to meet Hatake Kakashi." the headmaster said as he straightened up.

Sakura tore her eyes away from Kakashi and over to her headmaster, only for them to widen a fraction. When had the man gotten so old? The last time she saw him was… when? Sakura had no idea. In fact, she couldn't even remember speaking to him before she left. Rubbing the back of her neck almost nervously, Sakura stepped forward until she was stood beside her mother, who was smiling at the headmaster. Her stomach was in knots once more.

"Good morning, Sarutobi–sama." Mebuki smiled. "And, please, call me Mebuki." then, the woman turned and gave Kakashi a small smile. "Hello, Kakashi–san, thank you for meeting with us."

"Mom." Sakura said quietly, looking away from the two men and over to her mother. The scene that was playing out gave her a horrible feeling of déjà vu. "What's going on?"

Realising what she was probably feeling, Mebuki gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Sakura. This is just about what is going to be happening whilst you're back – nothing at all for you to feel anxious about."

Sarutobi Hiruzen also gave Sakura a reassuring smile. "It is good to have you back, Sakura."

"Thank you." Sakura mumbled, still looking at the three warily.

Gesturing towards the chairs in front of them, Hiruzen said, "Please, take a seat."

Mebuki smiled gratefully as she sat down whilst Sakura simply sat. Kakashi had remained standing, choosing to lean against the wall instead of sitting down. The pink haired girl was highly aware of the fact that he was watching her closely. Most likely watching her reactions carefully, Sakura thought, but it still made her uneasy. Her parents had been doing that a lot lately and with good reason too, since her reactions and moods were highly unpredictable.

"Sakura," Hiruzen said, gaining the girl's attention immediately, "during the first couple of months of your return, Kakashi will be by your side. Until you feel ready, he will stay with you."

She wanted to protest, to say that she didn't need anyone to stay with her, but Sakura knew that it would be a losing argument. So, she decided to simply nod and agree. "Is that during lessons too or just lunch and other breaks that I may have?"

"Just lunch and other breaks," he told her, "unless you want him to stay with you in lessons?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sure I can manage."

"Sakura," Mebuki chided her quietly, "do not speak to your headmaster in such a way – you're lucky you're being allowed back into this school at all!"

"It is fine, Mebuki–san." Hiruzen chuckled, quite amused by Sakura's attitude. "Kakashi will also be here for you in case of emergency or you feel as though you need someone to talk to."

"I already have one of those–" Sakura started to say with a bored and annoyed tone but was interrupted.

"_Sakura_!" Mebuki hissed in warning before looking back at Hiruzen. "Sarutobi–sama, if anything happens, even if it is the smallest of things, I would be grateful if you could contact me immediately. It was only decided this morning to allow Sakura to return and I have to admit that I am still not entirely comfortable with the idea."

Kakashi chose this time to push away from the wall and step forward. "I can assure you that Sakura will be fine, Mebuki–san."

Mebuki folded one leg over the other as she looked over at Kakashi. "Sakura will never be one hundred percent fine." she told him, her eyes saddening before she blinked and turned back to Hiruzen. "Please, do not hesitate in calling me. I have filled in a form already and gave the receptionist my phone number, my home number and my work number."

Sakura frowned. When had her mother done all that? Had it been when Sakura was too busy trying to ignore her viewers?

"Mebuki–san, Kakashi knows what he is doing, so please listen to him. He may seem young but he is good at what he does."

"Okay." Mebuki said quietly, looking away from Hiruzen and over to Sakura as she bit her lip with worry.

"I'll be fine." Sakura told her mother with a roll of her eyes.

Mebuki nodded before standing up. Giving her daughter one last worried glance, the woman was dismissed. Then, Hiruzen turned back to Sakura, as did Kakashi.

Being alone in a single room with two men made Sakura nervous, but she refused to show it. No, she knew that they wouldn't hurt her. Even though Sakura had never met Kakashi before, she knew Hiruzen well enough to know that he thought of every student in the school as his own children. It was strange, but apparently true.

"So do I just go straight to lessons now?" Sakura asked, a little unsure.

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, who then answered Sakura's question as she also looked up at him. "For now, you will go to your lesson. I have a copy of your timetable and will meet you outside of your lesson before lunch. If you need to see me any other time, my office is just next door to Sarutobi–sama's. This will be our arrangement until you feel comfortable enough to not need me."

"Kakashi will also be on time." Hiruzen said with an edge to his voice. "Won't you, Kakashi?"

The silver haired man sighed dejectedly and lowered his head. "You have such little faith in me, Sarutobi–sama."

Sakura chuckled at Kakashi as Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

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><p><strong>AN - Like I said at the top, this fic is rated 'M' for a reason. Not only will there be multiple lemons, but it is also a rather dark story. Anyways, I hope you all decide to stick with me for this. It isn't my first Gaara/Sakura or Sasuke/Sakura fanfiction, but it is the first that I will be posting of the former, since the others are nowhere near ready to be posted. Also, I think this will be my first ever love triangle story, too.**

**If there is ever a point where any of the characters are OOC, please tell me! Not only that, but also grammar errors and spelling errors.**

**I don't appreciate flames!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :-)**


	2. I'm Different Now

**Chapter 2 – I'm Different Now**

Sakura inwardly growled.

It was her first day back and she was already late to her first lesson. Sure, she had a pass and sure, it was for a good reason, but that only meant that when she entered her lesson, people were going to stare at her.

And stare they did.

It had always annoyed Sakura how the whole class would stare at you as though you just killed someone when you were late. However, when they realised who it was, they all started whispering amongst themselves like they had done earlier that morning. The teacher looked equally as shocked to see Sakura in her classroom, but pushed her shock aside quickly as she stood up and stepped towards Sakura.

"Settle down!" the teacher snapped before turning to Sakura and softening her tone considerably. "Sakura, it's nice to see you have returned." she smiled and Sakura immediately felt guilty that she couldn't remember the teacher's name. After taking her pass, she spoke again. "Please take a seat besides Hinata."

Sakura turned and looked over the class, ignoring how many people were still staring at her. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sakura turned towards the teacher again. "Uh... who's Hinata?"

"Oh, you probably won't have seen her before, I believe this is your first class together and you have been away for a while." the teacher said quickly, noticing how uncertain and ashamed Sakura seemed. With a gentle smile, the teacher pointed towards the back. "Hinata is the dark haired girl on the back row."

She nodded once at the teacher before moving forward. Her eyes once again swept over the students who continued to stare at her, until her eyes caught a familiar pair of empty ones and froze. It felt as though her heart had started to beat much faster as Sakura quickly looked away and sat down next to Hinata.

Glancing at the girl, Sakura gave her a quick smile, since she looked utterly uncomfortable having Sakura sitting next to her. Her dark hair was cropped short into a pixie cut, framing her face beautifully and her surprisingly pale lavender eyes were wide with shock. Even without makeup, Hinata was stunning. Her pale skin seemed absolutely flawless, almost making Sakura envious. In return to her smile, Hinata also smiled before facing forward.

"What's the teacher's name?" Sakura asked quietly, looking over at Hinata.

Hinata looked as though she was uncertain on whether to reply or not, but then looked up at Sakura. "H–Her name is Kurenai–sensei."

Sakura nodded, storing away the name for future reference, before placing her elbows onto the desk and leaning into her hands. Thankfully, because she was on the back row, not many people could stare at her unless they turned around to do so. However, the person in front of her was so tense that it was starting to make Sakura really uneasy. Bouncing her knee up and down quickly, she tore her eyes away from him and looked around the room, trying to see if she recognised anyone else.

There were a few people she recognised, mostly guys, but no more than two or three that she really knew. The first guy was called Kiba, the second was Shikamaru, the third was Choji. At some point, they had all been friends, but they hadn't talked in months.

Turning back to look at the guy in front of her, Sakura sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

_Sasuke…_

She had messed things up big time with him and that was an understatement. In the whole eight months she had been away, neither of them had attempted to call the other or see them. Well, Sakura couldn't, but him? Sasuke had nothing stopping him from picking up a phone or coming over to her house. She shook the angry thoughts from her head since she had no right to be angry with him. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms. In fact, that whole night had been disastrous and at one point, completely life changing.

Before her thoughts could go further, Sakura forced them to stop. She did _not_ need to remember that night. Not now, not ever.

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><p>"I'll be back in a couple of moments." Kakashi told her, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.<p>

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction. "What? Where are you going? Why?"

She didn't want to be left alone in this place so soon, especially in the cafeteria. It had only been a couple of hours and already Sakura felt as though she had received glares from just about everyone in the school. It made her stomach twist uneasily at the thought of being left alone with them. Would they confront her? Would they all gang up on her?

After her first lesson, which had been English, her others had been uneventful. People still stared as she walked to and from lessons, none of them really making the effort to come and talk to her. Which was fine by her because she didn't make any effort to either. However, it hurt that none of her old friends tried to speak to her.

"To use the bathroom." Kakashi shrugged. "Apparently teachers aren't supposed to use the students' bathrooms, so I have to walk down a little further. I'll be no more than five minutes."

Her heart started beating faster as she gripped a tighter hold of her tray. "Five minutes?"

Kakashi nodded once, noticing her anxiousness. "I promise."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and nodding once in agreement. Whilst she didn't want to be left alone, Sakura knew it would be good for her. If Kakashi didn't do this, then she would never be able to face them by herself. As Sakura watched Kakashi walk away at a fast pace, she took deep, calming breaths and waited in line to pay for her lunch.

After a couple of moments however, the hope that had been growing in Sakura's chest died as she realised she wouldn't be left alone.

"Why the hell did you come back here?" a familiar voice screeched angrily, catching everyone's attention in the cafeteria.

Sakura looked over her shoulder and frowned as she saw Ino, before she fully turned around. It made her feel uneasy having her back to someone when they sounded so angry with her. When she was facing her, she had to hold back a gasp at the amount of hatred she could see in Ino's eyes. Never before had Sakura ever had Ino hate her and she would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt. However, instead of admitting it or showing her sadness, Sakura put on a cold front. "Why do you care?"

Ino glared viciously at Sakura as she stepped closer, trying to intimidate her. By now, many people had started to crowd around the two girls, Sakura's old friends included. As she looked at their faces, Sakura saw Naruto looking torn and Sasuke looking as indifferent as ever. Again, instead of showing her hurt, Sakura simply stared Ino down.

"You ruined everything!" the blonde yelled, once again stepping forward.

"_Please_," Sakura snorted, despite the fact her heart was racing, "if you're going to try and intimidate me, you're going to have to try harder than _that_. I'm not some snot–nosed first year, Ino, so don't treat me like one."

The other girl barked out a laugh. "No, you're just the slut of the year who ruins relationships and breaks hearts."

The pink haired girl's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at Sasuke and Naruto and then back to Ino, who was now smirking.

"Yeah, they hate you too, you know." Ino told her in a matter–of–factly voice.

Sakura shrugged indifferently even though it hurt to hear such things. "I guess it can't be helped. If that's how they feel, then that's fine by me." her brows furrowed once again as Sakura lowered her head a fraction. "I'm only here to finish the school year."

"Don't try to lie to me because I can see right through you." Ino scoffed. "I made you."

"I think you'll find my parents made me." she quipped.

Ino's face flushed red as she clenched her fists tightly. "You know what I mean! Before I was your friend, you were a 'nobody' and not a single person cared about you. I made you into who you are today."

"You don't even know me." Sakura spat angrily as she threw her tray to the ground so that her hands were free. Her plate smashed whilst the sound of her cutlery clashing with the ground seemed to echo around the room. People gasped in surprise as they watched Sakura step forward, her anger screaming out of every part of her body. "You have no idea what I've been through these last eight months, so _don't you dare_ try to act as though you know who I am!"

Once again, Ino smirked as she placed a hand on her hip. "Oh? And what have you been through exactly, hm? Loads of rumours went round about you, some saying you were sent away to deal with a drug addiction, others saying you were pregnant."

Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "Ha! I wish. A drug addiction would have been much more preferable."

For a second, a flash of uncertainty showed in Ino's eyes and as it did, Sakura's eyes darted over to Naruto, who was looking as though he wanted to speak to her and then to Sasuke, who simply stared back at her.

"Stop trying to make people feel sorry for you!" Ino yelled. "Nobody cares about you, Sakura! Once again, you're just a 'nobody'."

Again, Sakura shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not here for any of that. I'm here for my education."

Her words were really starting to get to her and no matter how hard she tried, Sakura couldn't push the pessimistic thoughts back. It was easy keeping the tears away, keeping a straight face, but on the inside, Sakura felt as though she was falling apart. It seemed Naruto could see she was close to breaking point since he stepped forward with a frown on his face.

"Ino, just leave her alone."

A few people in the crowd yelled and muttered in agreement.

The blonde shook her head before looking at him in disbelief. "Don't you remember the state you were in when she just left? Don't you remember that fight you guys had, how she tore you and Sasuke–kun apart?"

This time, Sakura wasn't able to hold back as she yelled at Ino, "I did _not_ tear them apart! I loved them both so much and you know that better than anyone, Ino. I can't believe you're trying to use something like that against me!"

Ino turned back to Sakura and glared. "You broke Naruto's heart, you cold bitch." she hissed, advancing on her as she did so. "Not only did he lose the girl he loved, but he also lost his best friend. Not only did I lose the guy _I_ loved, but I also lost _my_ best friend." Ino was now right in Sakura's face, but the latter refused to back down as she strengthened her stance and returned Ino's glare. "Because of you, everybody was left broken. You're nothing but a back–stabbing whore."

Even though her tears were obvious, Sakura refused to let them fall as she glared at Ino. Before long her bottom lip was trembling, as were her fists. "Shut up."

"Why? Everyone knows it. In fact, not a single person in this cafeteria can stand you after what you did."

"Shut up." Sakura spat.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the pink haired girl, ignoring how several people were telling her to just leave it. "You should never have come back here, Sakura. When you disappeared everything became so much better. You wouldn't even believe how happy your leaving made me. So why don't you just crawl back into your hole and _rot there_!"

Before anyone could react, Sakura punched Ino before grabbing a fistful of her hair and slamming Ino's face into her knee. The blonde howled in pain as Sakura threw her to the ground, quickly following as she straddled her. Her face was twisted with anger, pain and sadness as she grabbed Ino's collar and brought her up until they were eye–to–eye. Ino's nose and lip were both busted and her right eye was closed and twitching every couple of seconds.

"You have _no idea_ what I've been through," Sakura repeated through clenched teeth, "so don't _ever_ try to act like you know me. I don't know what I did to you to make you hate me so much–"

"You_ fucked_ Sasuke–kun!" Ino screeched.

Everybody grew silent for a couple of seconds and out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Naruto flinch whilst Sasuke tensed.

Ino's open eye filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. "You knew exactly how I felt about him! You knew that I was going to tell him that I loved him, so what did you go and do? You jumped on him like some sort of horny slut!"

Sakura's eyes were wide as she leaned back from Ino, her hold loosening. "How did you find out?"

"I saw you both!" Ino snapped. "I saw you on top of him and his arms around you whilst you rode him." Many people cringed at Ino's crass speech. "I came over to ask you what I should wear when I told Sasuke–kun I loved him and what did I see? I saw him getting fucked by my best friend!"

"That's enough, Ino!" Sasuke snapped. The back of his neck was burning red as people continued to stare at him in shock.

Ino shook her head. "I have no idea what you've been through? Well, you have no idea what I went through after seeing _that_."

Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head slowly as she chuckled humourlessly, making people watch her warily. If only Ino knew. If only that idiotic, self–centred _bitch_ knew the truth about what had happened. If only she knew why she had stopped going out, why her mother had hidden her away from the public, why she had to see Tsunade every week.

"You're so stupid." Sakura mumbled before speaking louder. "What you felt for Sasuke wasn't love! What _I_ felt for him was love. Ever since we were children, I had feelings for Sasuke, but he would always turn me down. As we got older my feelings deepened and he started to notice me more but still wouldn't do anything about the way he felt. Then, one night, I was watching a movie with Naruto and one thing led to another. Nothing else happened between us and it was a one–time thing. What happened with Sasuke was…" she shook her head, trying to find the right words. "It happened more than once and–"

"Shut up!" Ino shouted in Sakura's face before throwing her off of her. The blonde was quick to follow as she pinned Sakura down and punched her. "I don't want to know about these things!" she screamed before grabbing Sakura's hair.

"Sakura!" Kakashi called out in shock before rushing over as another teacher pulled Ino off of Sakura. He helped Sakura up, assessing her for any serious damage, but it seemed as though Ino was the only one badly hurt since her nose looked as though it was gushing blood. "Take her to the nurse's office." then, Kakashi turned back to Sakura. "I'm sorry, I was gone for five minutes and when I returned–"

Sakura shook her head and forced her tears back, ignoring everyone as they stared at her and Kakashi in shock. "It's fine. Just… please get me out of here, Kakashi. I think my mother was right, it's too soon."

Kakashi wasn't a teacher who was often seen around. He was a teacher who assisted those with problems, serious problems. Both Sasuke and Naruto exchanged wary glances with each other, wondering what could have happened if Sakura needed Kakashi with her. Also, what did she mean by her mother saying it was too soon? Before anybody could ask questions, Kakashi was guiding Sakura out of the cafeteria whilst Ino was being taken to the nurse's office, calling Sakura names that would make even sailors blush.

* * *

><p>As she and Kakashi stood outside of the headmaster's office together, Sakura wasn't surprised to see that they weren't alone. However, she was surprised that Kakashi knew the other student. He had nodded once, asked him if he was doing well and then gone back to being silent.<p>

"Sakura, take a seat whilst I go in and speak with Sarutobi–sama. There are a few things I need to discuss with him before he speaks with you."

She nodded once before sitting beside the boy Kakashi had spoken to.

His hair was a blood red colour and just like his intense, icy blue eyes, it stood out. Around his eyes were some of the darkest rings Sakura had ever seen, but she wasn't too sure as to whether or not it was eye liner. It didn't look like eye liner. The black seemed to go much deeper than just above the surface, giving him a tired look. Also, she couldn't be too sure since his hair was in the way, but Sakura could have sworn that he had a tattoo on his forehead.

"It is considered rude to stare."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked down from the hidden mark to his eyes, which were now narrowed as he glared at her. "Sorry." she mumbled, looking away. After a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence, Sakura looked back over at the boy. "My name's Sakura."

"Gaara."

Not having heard his name before, she gave him a small smile. "Are you new here?"

"No." he told her, his voice sounding slightly bitter. "We've been in the same classes for the past three years."

Once again, Sakura's eyes widened. "I never really noticed you before." she said honestly, her cheeks burning with shame and embarrassment. "I didn't really pay any attention to anything back then…"

"Obviously."

Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but Sakura pushed away her anger once again and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm sorry if I ever offended you with my behaviour." she said softly and Gaara looked at her with surprise. "Even I admit that I was kind of a bitch to everyone before… before I left for a couple of months."

Gaara snorted and looked away. "The word 'bitch' is an understatement to how you treated others."

This time, Sakura couldn't keep away the anger in her voice. "What do you mean?"

Once again, his eyes held surprise. "You don't remember?" when Sakura shook her head slowly and looked unsure, Gaara snorted again. "Before you left, you made several teachers cry and quit their jobs by abusing them verbally. You also attacked several students physically."

Sakura's eyes were wide as she stared at Gaara in shock. Raising a shaking hand to her mouth, she looked away as her eyes filled with tears. Had she really done those things? Had she really attacked people, made people cry and quit their jobs? The thought alone made Sakura feel awful. No. She shook her head gently, forcing back her tears. No, she was better now… but that didn't stop the guilt from making it hard to breathe.

"Are…" Sakura looked down at her legs before looking back up into Gaara's eyes, "are those people I attacked both physically and verbally okay?"

Gaara shrugged. "I didn't care enough to find out and I still don't."

"Oh." Sakura whispered, leaning back in her seat and staring at the door to Sarutobi's office.

Whilst she continued to wait, Sakura's fingers drummed against the arm of her chair as her eyes scanned the small reception. There wasn't much to it. In the farthest corner by the opened door was a single large plant. The receptionist desk took up most of the room, but at that moment in time, it was vacant. Sakura wasn't sure if it was normal for the receptionist to leave the front desk unattended, had it always been that way? Looking away from the desk, Sakura looked at the notices on the board until a half–amused voice spoke and interrupted her thoughts.

"You act as though you've never been here before." Kakashi said from the doorway, watching her with amusement shining in his eyes.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders half–heartedly. "I've been away for a while."

"That you have." Kakashi nodded once in agreement before stepping inside. "Sarutobi–sama will see you now."

With a small nod, Sakura grabbed her bag and walked into the headmaster's office, giving Gaara a small smile as she left. It was a smile that went ignored and unreturned as Gaara merely rolled his eyes and glared at the wall.

As she entered the office, Kakashi followed and closed the door behind him. Behind his desk sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, looking no different than he had only hours before when she had been here with her mother and met Kakashi for the first time ever. There was a frown on his face, making him look at least ten years older as he carefully assessed Sakura's features, much like Kakashi had when he helped her up in the cafeteria. Sakura could see the concern in his eyes and she could see that he was trying to find a way to approach the subject without causing her upset.

"I'm fine." Sakura told him with a small smile. "It'll take a lot more than one of Yamanaka Ino's punches to–"

Hiruzen shook his head, looking displeased as he spoke. "That is not the point, Sakura. It is your first day back here in over eight months and you're already fighting."

Kakashi frowned as he stepped in. "If I may, Sarutobi–sama, but Sakura was fine until I left. In fact, she tried asking me to stay by her side."

"Then why did you leave?"

The silver haired man raised a hand and scratched the back of his head whilst chuckling sheepishly. "I needed the bathroom and since it is inappropriate for me to use the student's bathroom, I had to walk all the way to the fourth corridor."

Hiruzen shook his head in disbelief. "You couldn't have used the bathroom before lunch?"

He shrugged. "I have a habit of being late, you see, and I didn't want to risk it."

"Say no more."

Hiruzen sighed. He already knew of Kakashi's tardiness. Then, he looked over at Sakura, who was currently looking out of the large window behind his desk with a vacant expression. Kakashi cleared his throat once and nudged her, causing Sakura to shake her head softly and look up him before looking back at her headmaster and mumbling an apology.

"Kakashi tells me that you think your return was too soon, is this correct?"

Sakura frowned and looked down at the ground before looking back at Hiruzen, her eyes burning with determination. "That is true, but now I wish to stay here." she told the two, surprising them. "I did _not_ spend the past two months begging to come back to have someone like Ino ruin this. I don't care if the other students don't want me here; I'm not here to be the horrible, messed up and disgusting girl I once was. I'm here for my education, because I want to change myself and prove my mother wrong. I'm ready for this."

Hiruzen smiled kindly at Sakura whilst Kakashi's smile was hidden beneath his mask. Then, Hiruzen rose from his seat and moved around his desk until he was in front of it. "I'm glad. For the rest of the month, or until the others accept your return, Kakashi will stay with you during your lessons. Your mother is very worried about you and you were there when both Kakashi and I promised to keep a close eye on you."

She nodded once. "I understand."

Seeing the saddened look in her eye, Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled even though she couldn't see it. "Small steps, Sakura. They will eventually accept you again – these things just take time."

Sakura huffed and folded her arms over her chest, a playful look in her eyes as she tried to keep from smiling. "I'm just sad that I'm stuck with you for even longer, Hatake." Kakashi chuckled, as did Hiruzen. However, the look playful look in Sakura's eyes faded as she remembered something. Almost hesitantly, Sakura looked at her headmaster with guilty eyes. "Sarutobi–sama?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Did… I mean…" shaking her head softly, Sakura averted her eyes and bit her lower lip. "Are those teachers okay, the ones who quit… because of me?"

The humour also left Hiruzen's eyes as he sighed. "They are. Do not feel guilty about what happened, Sakura. Yes, the way you had acted was wrong, but we know why that was now. The three teachers who quit are now working in other schools and say that perhaps leaving had been for the best. One teacher is even getting married after falling in love with another teacher in her new school."

The news did nothing to make Sakura feel better, but she gave a small, half–hearted smile and nodded.

"As for your punishment for fighting," Hiruzen said with another sigh, "even though you were provoked, you will still need to be punished just like other students. So, you will spend two hours after school in detention starting tomorrow night for the next two weeks. The janitor was asking for some helpers, now he has some."

Sakura nodded. "I understand, Sarutobi–sama."

"Good." Hiruzen said. "There is still fifteen minutes left of lunch and your mother stressed that we must make sure you eat. Kakashi, get the girl some lunch and she will spend the rest of it and next period in your office until things have calmed down."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to pop one of these days if my mother has her way."

Kakashi chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Come on. My office is next door, go wait in there and I'll be back in a short while. Is there anything in particular that you want?"

Shrugging, Sakura walked towards the door and answered over her shoulder. "Just get me anything, I don't mind."

Gaara was still sitting in his seat when she left the office. However, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Sakura frowned as she looked at him. Had he fallen asleep? When she had been waiting with him to be seen, he hadn't seemed that tired. Had he fainted? Oh God… what if he had fainted?

Walking over to the boy, Sakura was just about to shake his shoulder when a hand caught her wrist and pulled her away from Gaara. With a gasp, Sakura turned quickly and was met by a pair of dark eyes which she immediately knew belonged to Kakashi. "What–"

"Gaara doesn't appreciate being touched." he told her quietly before looking over at the boy whose eyes were now open and glaring at Sakura. "Relax, Gaara." Kakashi told Gaara with a firm voice as he released Sakura's wrist. "It was an honest mistake – Sakura didn't know any better."

Gaara scoffed and sat back in his seat, angry at himself for dozing off in such a place. "Of course she doesn't. People like me disgust people like her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura demanded, her fists doubling at her sides.

His eyes darted down to Sakura's hands before looking back into her eyes with a cold glare. Then, Gaara stood up from his seat, but the movement didn't seem to intimidate Sakura like it was supposed to, she simply returned his glare. However, he could see the small shift in her eyes, telling him that he was making her uneasy. "It means that spoiled brats like you, who live picture–perfect lives and have nothing to worry about, don't care about anything or anyone other than themselves."

"That is enough, Gaara."

Sakura waved off Kakashi, her eyes piercing a hole into Gaara's as his did the same to hers. "No, Kakashi. Let him speak. Let him make himself look like an idiot."

"_I'm_ the idiot?" Gaara chuckled darkly.

"Yes, you are!" Sakura snapped. "You're quick to judge others based on small facts you know about them. Yes, I'll admit, I _am_ a spoiled brat and yes, I used to care about nothing other than myself. But now, whilst I may _look_ as though I live in a picture–perfect home, whilst my family _look_ like nothing is wrong," by now, tears were forming in Sakura's eyes, but she refused to let them fall, "we're not perfect and we have _a lot_ to care and worry about."

Gaara snorted. "Sure you do." then, Gaara picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. However, instead of immediately walking into Sarutobi's office, he looked over his shoulder at Sakura, a small crease forming between his brows. "You should stop crying so much." he told her, surprising Kakashi and Sakura. Hell, he even surprised himself. "If they see you crying, they will think they have won."

With that, Gaara entered the office and slammed the door behind him.

She took a deep, shaky breath as she continued to stare at the door in shock and confusion. One minute, Gaara had been yelling at her and calling her a spoilt brat and then the next, he was giving her advice. What was his deal? Did he like confusing the hell out of people?

Before she could think about it any further, Sakura found herself being steered into an office. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that it was Kakashi who was moving her. With a quick 'I'll be back in five minutes', Kakashi was out of his office, the door shutting behind him as he rushed back to the cafeteria.

As Sakura waited for him to return, she sat down on the sofa in his office and leaned back as she thought about what had happened. Sakura had expected some people to be unhappy with her, but she never would have thought that her three best friends would have turned against her! The thought made her want to burst into tears and Sakura would have, if Gaara's words hadn't shone in bright lights in her mind.

"_If they see you crying, they will think they have won._"

Sakura could sense that there was a deeper meaning to his words, but whatever that meaning was, it was none of her business. After all, she hated it when people pried, so it would be hypocritical of her to do the same. However that didn't stop their conversations from replaying in her mind – both the first and the second.

Had Gaara really been in her classes for the past three years? Surely she would have seen him before! After all, it wasn't until the end of the second year that she started to change. Why had she never noticed him before? He wasn't exactly hard to miss, what with those startling blue eyes and his blood red hair. Maybe Gaara was one of those guys who chose to be quiet and stay at the back with his head down? Maybe he was a loner, a social outcast? Sakura shrugged. Even though she felt bad about never noticing him before, it was still none of her business as to why he was the way he was.

It had taken him a lot longer than he said, but after waiting for twenty minutes, Kakashi finally returned and handed Sakura a chicken mayonnaise sandwich, an apple, a packet of doritos and a bottle of coke. She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he had guessed her favourite flavours and food, but Kakashi simply smiled sheepishly.

"I had to find out what you preferred, hence why I took so long."

"You didn't have to do that." Sakura told him, although extremely grateful that he had.

He had probably rung her mother and asked her. After all, Mebuki had asked to be updated if anything happened and since Sakura had been in a fight, she would have been informed. Therefore, whilst he was already on the phone to the woman, he could have asked her what Sakura liked to eat.

However, what Sakura didn't know was that it wasn't her mother who had told him what her favourite foods were. It had been a boy with blond hair and blue eyes – Kakashi couldn't remember his name, though he did look awfully familiar to him. Whilst Kakashi had been looking over the food, trying to guess what to get her, the blond haired kid had walked over to him with another boy who had both dark hair and eyes. The two had stood on the right side of him and after the blond boy had muttered what food Sakura liked, he had then asked if she was okay.

It surprised Kakashi to say the least. If the boys were so concerned about her, why hadn't either of them helped her? Why had they not stepped in and defended her when Ino had her pinned and was pulling her hair? Kakashi hadn't bothered asking, although he did answer their question and told them that she would be fine. However, when they then went onto questioning him why she had left for so long, Kakashi had paid for Sakura's food, made up an excuse that he was too busy to play twenty questions, and left.

Sakura took the food Kakashi offered her and once again leaned back against the sofa. "Thanks."

He shrugged and walked over to his desk, pulling a book out of the top drawer before sitting down. Kakashi opened the book, revealing the title to her just as Sakura took a swig of her coke and in response, she started to choke. Her face flushed red as she tried to breathe until finally, she managed to calm herself.

Kakashi looked over to her and raised a brow. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Sakura placed her bottle onto the table and picked up her sandwich. Just as Kakashi turned back to his book, Sakura spoke. "I prefer _Tactics_."

This time, it was Kakashi who seemed to choke – but on nothing but air. The man immediately sat up and looked at Sakura with shock obvious in his eyes. His reaction made Sakura smirk and Kakashi slowly placed his book onto the desk, looking at Sakura the whole time. "You've read the _Icha Icha_ series?"

"Yeah." Sakura shrugged, acting as though it wasn't a big deal. To her, it wasn't. "After all, I was locked away against my will for eight months and I _do_ own a credit card. I ordered the whole series and read them all in less than month."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How did you get them? You're not over eighteen."

Sakura looked at Kakashi as though he was an idiot before taking another bite of her sandwich. "No," she said slowly after swallowing the food in her mouth, "but my father is. Since he pays for my credit card, I just had them sent in his name." when Kakashi continued to stare at her in shock and amazement, Sakura chuckled. "You're acting as though I'm the only one who has done something like that! I used to buy a lot worse than smutty books whilst lying about my age, you know!"

As more memories flashed before her eyes and Kakashi still didn't say anything, Sakura wrapped up the rest of her sandwich before placing it on the table, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore and just the thought of eating made her want to throw up.

* * *

><p><em>"Come on Ino!" Sakura hissed as she stepped out of the car. Turning around and sticking her head back in to look on the backseat, she rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're chickening out on us now."<em>

_Ino glared at Sakura before pushing the front seat forward and climbing out. As soon as she was stood up, the blonde fixed her skirt and fluffed her hair before looking back at Sakura. "So what exactly is the plan?"_

_Sakura ignored Ino for a couple of seconds as she said something to Sasuke and Naruto before closing the car door and looking back at the blonde. "We're going to go and buy some vodka for the party, pig."_

_"You're such an idiot," Ino rolled her eyes, "there is no way we're going to get served – neither of us are eighteen!"_

_"No, but we _look_ it." Sakura smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Why do you think we're so dressed up already? The party isn't for another two hours!"_

_Ino frowned as she glanced at the shop. "Are you sure this'll work? It will be downright humiliating if the clerk refuses to serve us."_

_"Please." Sakura scoffed over her shoulder as she started to walk forward. "Sasuke came by here not too long ago and I asked him to see who was working here tonight."_

_Ino's frown deepened, but before she could say anything more, Sakura had opened the door and stepped into the shop. She held it open for the blonde and once Ino had grabbed the handle, Sakura strutted forward towards the counter, her hips dipping as she did. Her body language screamed confidence as Sakura leaned over the counter and smiled, giving the clerk a good view of her cleavage._

_The clerk was around eighteen – obviously still in school or just starting college. His hair was brown and his eyes were dark, but none of that mattered to Sakura. Hell, she didn't even glance at his name tag. The guy seemed amazed by her pink hair, but his eyes were soon drawn to her breasts._

_Chuckling, Sakura leaned forward even further and ran a finger up his chest, startling him as she followed through until tilting his chin up so he was looking her in the eye. "My eyes are up here." she whispered playfully, retracting her arm._

_He seemed completely floored as her vivid emerald green eyes held him in a trance. "How can I help you?" he asked in a husky voice._

_Liking the affect she was having, Sakura looked over her shoulder and motioned with her head towards Ino, who walked over to the counter and smiled at the clerk. "My friend and I are going to a house party tonight," Sakura told him, not missing how his eyes were hungrily taking in their bodies, "but, we forgot to grab some drinks before leaving, right, Ino?"_

_Ino nodded and chuckled, "We can be so ditzy sometimes."_

_"We can." Sakura nodded in agreement before facing him again. "We'll take four bottles of your strongest vodka, please."_

_The clerk nodded as though in a daze before asking, "Do you have any I.D?"_

_The two girls watched him carefully. Ino was about ready to bolt, knowing they weren't going to be served whilst Sakura stayed calm and smiled. "We left almost everything back at my place." she told him before reaching into her bra, his eyes following every move she made, "but lucky for us, I always keep my money in a safe place."_

_He nodded after swallowing loudly. "Looks very safe." he said in a strained voice._

_"It is." she said, leaning forward once again and resting her elbows onto the counter. Raising the money, Sakura raised a brow. "So will you be kind enough to serve us, please?"_

_The clerk looked torn as he grimaced. "I'm not supposed to serve you without seeing some I.D."_

_Sakura frowned prettily whilst Ino sighed. Then, an idea struck Sakura. "How about we make a deal?"_

_Looking interested, he nodded quickly._

_"How about," Sakura said slowly, allowing the suspense to grow as Ino shifted slightly and watched her warily, "I come back here when your shift is over and prove that I'm eighteen?"_

_By now, his heart was beating so hard it was about to come shooting right out of his chest. There was sweat slowly dripping down his temple as his eyes practically devoured Sakura's body. Shifting slightly, the boy looked back into her eyes. "How do I know you're not lying?"_

_Sakura looked at Ino, who was looking at her as though she had grown a second head, before looking back towards the clerk. She leaned even further forward and beckoned him closer with one of her fingers. As soon as he leaned over the counter, Sakura ran one of her hands over his, trailing it up his arm, over his shoulder until eventually, her hand was in his hair. Once again, he swallowed loudly just as Sakura closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. The clerk was quick to return her kiss as he cupped her face and deepened it. However, just as his hand started to trail down towards her neck to bring her closer, Sakura pulled away. "I promise I'll come back."_

_He nodded quickly before turning and grabbing five bottles of vodka. As he placed them down onto the counter and grabbed a bag, he looked over at Sakura and Ino. "The fifth one is on me."_

_"Such a gentleman," Sakura smiled, "isn't he, Ino?"_

_Ino gave a quick smile and nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled, "such a gentleman."_

_Before leaving the shop with their alcohol, Sakura looked over her shoulder and winked. "I'll see you later, then."_

_"I finish at one." he smirked, eyeing her behind as she chuckled and nodded her head._

_As soon as they were outside, Ino was stomping towards the car and by the time Sakura had rolled her eyes, she was back in her seat with an angry scowl on her face. Tightening her grip on her bag, Sakura followed Ino and got into the passenger front seat next to Sasuke. She lifted the bag with a victorious smile on her lips and handed it over to Naruto, who was sitting in the back and eyeing Ino carefully, as though she was about to snap._

_And she did._

_"Are you crazy? What the hell were you playing at?" Ino snapped as soon as Sasuke started driving._

_The two boys looked at her in confusion – one through the mirror, the other from beside her. Sakura just rolled her eyes and smiled. "I got the drinks, didn't I?"_

_"Yeah," Ino said, still sounding angry, "but was it worth it?"_

_This time, Sasuke and Naruto were looking at her, but Sakura only shrugged as she reached down and grabbed her bag. "It wasn't too bad – I'd say six or seven."_

_"What does that mean?" Sasuke demanded, keeping his eyes on the road but kept shooting her looks every now and then._

_Sakura rolled her eyes as she pulled out her lip gloss, but it was Ino who answered. "Sakura had to persuade him to serve us!"_

_"What?" Naruto and Sasuke both yelled as the latter pulled over, ignoring the angry drivers behind him who beeped. Then, he turned in his seat, glaring at Sakura. "What does she mean, you _persuaded_ him?"_

_Again, Sakura rolled her eyes and shrugged. "It was only a kiss – nothing to get upset about."_

_"_You kissed him_?" Naruto all but exploded._

_"It was only a kiss?" Ino demanded, her face turning red due to her anger. "You promised him you would go back when his shift was over! What are you going to do then? Get on your knees, spread your legs?"_

_Both boys grimaced as the image of Sakura doing those things to other men filled their minds, but Sakura's chuckling brought them out of it._

_"_Please_." she smirked and put her lip gloss back. "Just because I said I was going to go back, doesn't mean that I will." then, Sakura turned in her seat and grabbed the bag she had just handed to Naruto. Taking one of the bottles, she turned back around and opened it. "He may have been hot, but I have my eyes on someone else."_

_With that said Sakura placed the bottle to her lips and took a mouthful. Her face twisted for a second before she wiped the sides of her mouth and chuckled. "At least he wasn't too out of it – he _did_ get us the strongest stuff!"_

_Naruto watched Sakura with a hint of sadness in his eyes, but the wariness and concern was much stronger and only if you really looked could you see the sadness. Sasuke watched Sakura and as she caught his eyes for a second, she could see the burning look in them that made her stomach warm. Then, through the mirror, Sakura saw Ino watching Sasuke before quickly grabbing the bottle and copying Sakura._

_The blonde giggled after she shuddered from the sour taste. "You're right!"_

_The two girls both started laughing as though they hadn't just been arguing as Sasuke started to drive again._

* * *

><p>Sakura looked down at the ground as Kakashi regarded her silently. Inwardly telling herself that she was different now, that she had changed, Sakura took a deep breath and grabbed her drink. She closed her eyes as she drunk at least a good half of the bottle, willing for the bad memories to go away along with the bitter taste in her mouth.<p>

Whilst they had been fun at the time, now Sakura only regretted her actions. Both Sasuke and Naruto had demanded that she never returned to the shop in case the clerk tried something – and she didn't. She had been telling the truth when she told the two boys and Ino that she already had her eyes on someone, but that never stopped her from acting like – in Ino's words – a whore.

There was so much that Sakura wanted to go back in time and change. There was so much hurt that she had caused, so much upset and heartbreak. Leaning back in her seat, Sakura stared up at the ceiling with a harsh glare. So many people had been hurt because of her actions, because of who she had been. She clenched her fists tightly, causing her knuckles to dig into her thighs almost painfully. They had been hurt so many times because of her – but not anymore. No. If they didn't want to speak to her, then fine, but they could at least hear her out, listen to her apology. It was then up to them if they wanted to accept it or not.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Thank you to those who have reviewed! :-)  
><strong>


	3. Taking Chances

**Chapter 3 – Taking Chances**

Her mother had been unbearably observant and just _there_ after hearing about her fight with Ino – if you could even call it a fight. From the moment Sakura had entered the car, right until the moment she got out the day after, Mebuki just would not leave her alone. She would repeatedly ask if Sakura was okay, whether or not she needed anything, was she comfortable enough, did she want to talk. It all started to grate on Sakura's nerves. Sure, she knew her mother was just being considerate and wanted to make sure she was okay, but damn it! Despite what they may think, she was _not_ made of glass.

Mebuki hadn't been too pleased when she learned that Sakura would be in detention every night for the next two weeks. In fact, she had called Sarutobi and actually asked him if he could choose a less severe punishment. Sakura had tried to argue, tried to tell her mother that it wasn't even that bad, but Mebuki refused to listen. It wasn't until Sarutobi had told the woman that he was simply following Sakura's wishes, to be treated like every other student, that Mebuki finally seemed to agree. Albeit, reluctantly.

People still stared at her, still gossiped. It was just as bad as the previous day, even more so because of her fight. It also didn't help that she and Kakashi were pretty much attached at the hip now. Wherever she went, he followed. He didn't seem to mind too much, but Sakura could tell her lessons bored him. Hell, he had even pulled _Icha Icha_ out during one of her lessons, causing her maths teacher, Genma, to chuckle and shake his head in amusement. It seemed as though they knew one another, especially when Genma came over to them and started speaking to Kakashi like they were old friends. He tried to make it look as though he was explaining the work to Sakura, but nobody was stupid enough to believe that.

Now that it had been pointed out to her, Sakura also noticed that Gaara_ was_ in quite a lot of her classes. How the hell she had failed to notice him before was beyond her, but Sakura refused to feel bad. There were a lot of people she had never noticed before and it worked both ways. Just because she had never spoken to him, it didn't mean that he could have never spoken to _her_.

Gaara mainly stayed at the back of the classes with his head down. As well as watching her, Kakashi had also watched Gaara out of the corner of his eyes. It was something that neither of the troubled students had failed to notice. At first, Sakura didn't think that Gaara even realised he was also being watched, but after a lesson or two, the boy had started to grow restless. His eyes would narrow every so often and his fists would clench. When this happened, Kakashi would simply sigh and go back to his book.

During lunch, Sakura and Kakashi ate in his office. They went to the cafeteria first, jumped to the front of the queue and bought their lunches before leaving. Sakura had seen both Sasuke and Naruto bickering as they entered the cafeteria. Their eyes had connected for a moment but just as Sakura had been about to say something, Naruto had looked away with a frown. She would have continued to say something, but Sasuke looked just as unapproachable as Naruto.

Kakashi seemed to sense her saddened mood as he watched her pick at her food for a few moments. Then, trying to lighten the mood, he asked, "So why is _Tactics_ your favourite?"

She couldn't help the small smile that curved her lips at that. It had only been a day and a half, but Sakura had already learned that Kakashi enjoyed – and she meant _enjoyed_ – his _Icha Icha_ books. "_Tactics_ has a better storyline and I preferred the main character."

"Ah." Kakashi mumbled as though in deep thought. "Perhaps you would appreciate _Paradise_ more when you're much older."

"I doubt there's anything I would see then that I haven't seen already." she snorted before continuing quickly. "Besides, you don't look that much older than me. What are you, twenty–three, twenty–four?"

An unseen smile caused Kakashi's eyes to crinkle. "I'm glad that you think I look so young, Sakura–chan."

She raised a brow at him before pointing at him with her fork. "Don't think you can just avoid my question, Kakashi–_sensei_. How old are you?"

"I don't see why that matters." Kakashi sighed before giving her a grin. "I would still only look around twenty–four!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura shoved more food into her mouth and after swallowing, she spoke again. "That's only because you keep half of your face covered." when he made no reply, Sakura once again raised a brow. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Wear a mask." Sakura replied before stabbing more food onto her food. "I mean, back when I was a kid, I would always have long bangs or wear a ribbon in my hair because I was insecure about my big ass forehead. So, is it the same with you? Are you insecure about your looks or something?"

Kakashi sighed as he turned a page in his book. "Would you believe me if I told you I have a low immune system?"

After another bite, Sakura hummed as she shrugged, "Probably not." Seeing that he obviously didn't want to talk about it, Sakura gave Kakashi a smile as she changed the subject. "I know the author of _Icha Icha_."

The sight of Kakashi's eyes widening as he paused in reading his book amused Sakura greatly as he turned to look at her. "Oh? And how do you know Jiraiya–sama?"

"Mm–hm." she nodded, before pulling a face when she realised he had called Jiraiya, 'Jiraiya–sama'. That pervert didn't deserve such a title! "Well, I _sort of_ know him. He's Naruto's Godfather – I haven't seen him in over a year. He's actually the reason why I know about the books in the first place. Whenever I saw him over at Naruto's place, he would always go on and on about them, telling me that they weren't porn, they're a 'master piece'." Sakura rolled her eyes at Jiraiya's choice of words before continuing. "I guess I got bored enough to read them." Kakashi didn't answer her and when Sakura looked up, she saw him staring at her. Self–consciously, the girl frowned and looked away. "What?"

He shook his head. "You act so much older than what you are."

Sakura snorted. "You've read my files, are you really that surprised?"

"Not really." he spoke honestly.

* * *

><p>It was English. Whilst it had once been one of Sakura's favourite subjects when she was younger, before she left, it had become one of her worst. So now, because she had failed to take any notice of the class, Sakura had<em> a lot<em> of work to catch up on.

The girl sat beside her, Hyuuga Hinata, finally seemed to be somewhat comfortable with Sakura sat beside her. Sure, there were still moments when she would look at her with wide, unsure eyes and speak with a nervous stutter, but as more time slipped by and Sakura showed her that she wasn't going to hurt her, Hinata started to relax. However, it seemed whenever Sakura spoke, Sasuke, who was sat right in front of her, would tense up.

And it was something that Sakura, Hinata _and_ Kakashi had not failed to notice.

When Kurenai started to speak once again and Kakashi found himself growing bored, he leaned toward Sakura, speaking quietly so only she would hear him. "What happened between you two?"

Sakura stared at Kakashi with wide eyes when she spun around to stare at him. After a couple of seconds though, her shock melted away as she shrugged. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just a little."

Once again, Sakura shrugged. "I messed quite a lot of things up before I left. What happened between me and Sasuke was one of them."

"Ah." Kakashi lifted his head thoughtfully before glancing at the back of Sasuke's head once again. "Did you offend him or…?"

Seeing that he wanted her to fill him in, Sakura gave him a small smile. "You'd have to ask him."

"You don't know what you did wrong?"

"No, I _know_ what I did wrong." Sakura said a little bitterly before sighing. "But, you asked if I had offended him. I don't know whether I have or not."

Kakashi once again answered with an "ah" before turning back to his book after Kurenai shot him a dark look that had Sakura snickering.

* * *

><p>Well.<p>

She had not been expecting this.

It was after school and she had made her way down to the janitor's closet for detention. After dressing in some overalls to keep her uniform clean, Sakura had returned to find she wasn't the only one there. Standing outside of the closet and also wearing overalls was Yamanaka Ino, a boy with extremely pale skin (who Sakura believed to be called Sai) and Gaara.

So it wasn't awkward in the slightest.

Really, it wasn't.

Whilst Ino was busy glaring at Sakura, Sakura was busy trying to look anywhere but at Ino. After seeing Gaara, Sakura had smiled at him and tried to start a conversation, but he simply grunted, nodded once in acknowledgement and looked away. When she had seen Sakura speaking to Gaara, Ino snorted out a laugh.

"Making friends with other nobodies, are we, Sakura?"

Gaara gritted his teeth at her remark, causing Sakura to eye him carefully. Kakashi had told her that Gaara had some anger issues and as much as Ino had been – and still was – pissing her off, she didn't want anything to happen to her if she got on Gaara's wrong side. "What's your problem, Ino?" Sakura demanded. "Do you have to belittle everyone? Do you really feel the need to try and make people feel small and worthless?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Save your '_I'm a different person now_' speech for someone who cares. I don't want to hear it. You may have disappeared for eight months, but it will never change who you used to be." then, Ino turned to face Sakura fully as she narrowed her eyes. "You acted so much worse than I do, so don't try to pretend as though you're better than me."

"At least now I'm making an effort to change." Sakura retorted, her own eyes narrowing. "If you want to call me names and put me down, then fine, do whatever you want. But do _not_ think you can do the same to other people who have done nothing wrong to you. Gaara is here to do detention just like the rest of us. He isn't here to listen to your pathetic and uncalled for bitchy remarks."

The two pale boys looked between Sakura and Ino with emotionless eyes. The tension in the air was palpable as Ino clenched her fists as though she was about to attack Sakura, whilst the latter had her arms hanging by her sides. It was as though Sakura wasn't even prepared to defend herself if Ino lunged at her.

"You're just jealous that Sasuke–kun is with me now." Ino laughed suddenly.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction before she raised a brow. "What does that have to do with anything? We're talking about me and you. Sasuke had nothing to do with this conversation until you brought him up." just when Ino was about to retort, Sakura finally had enough as she stood up straighter and smirked. "What's the matter, _pig_?" she asked patronizingly. "Are you trying to say that you don't want me to go near Sasuke? Are you really _that_ insecure?"

The thought of Ino and Sasuke together hurt Sakura more than she was willing to admit. Whilst she had done nothing to deserve Sasuke giving her another chance, she really did_ not_ like the thought of him being with Ino. Even if it did make him happy, it still hurt her, especially since Ino had been one of her best friends. Although saying that, it would be no different to what she had done, would it?

"I am _not_ insecure!" Ino screeched, her fists tightening even further. "And don't you dare use that name, especially not after everything you've done."

But then again, Sakura could remember almost every piece of gossip she had heard since returning. Even though she had tried to block most of it out, there were still a few juicy pieces that she just couldn't ignore.

"Sure." Sakura snorted as she folded her arms over her chest. "If you weren't insecure, you wouldn't be making up lies that you and Sasuke are together. From what I've heard, Sasuke hasn't been with another girl since I left. Also, I heard Karin telling her friends that she plans on asking him out. Now, if I were you, instead of telling me that Sasuke is yours, you should go and tell her."

Ino visibly bristled as she glared at Sakura. "Whatever, whore."

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come up with better insults, pig."

"I thought I told you not to call me that!"

"Like I care." Sakura said emptily as she leaned against the wall and looked up at the clock opposite them. She then turned her head to look at Gaara. "Is this janitor a relative of Kakashi's or something?"

Despite his foul mood, Gaara couldn't stop the smirk that showed. He looked up at the clock, also seeing that the janitor was fifteen minutes late, before looking down at Sakura. "Perhaps."

He didn't like how Sakura had defended him. Sure, some people would have considered it nice to have someone stand up for them, but he was not like other people. He could defend himself perfectly well and didn't need some girl to do it for him. Although, he was glad somebody was finally putting the Yamanaka in her place. She annoyed the hell out of him. If only she were a guy – he would have beaten the crap out of her many times by now.

'_Self–righteous, annoying bitch_.' Gaara thought to himself.

After another ten minutes had passed, the janitor finally showed himself. He seemed like your average old man. His hair was grey due to old age, although Sakura couldn't stop her smirk when she saw it. Gaara also seemed to understand why she was so amused because he also smirked, but otherwise made no attempts to speak to or acknowledge her. The headmaster had told the janitor not to pair Sakura with Ino, which had both girls sighing with relief. Instead, she was partnered up with Gaara. She gave him a smile to which he gave a dark look in reply. Apparently he did not find her amusing. Sakura would be lying if she said that she didn't find his moodiness entertaining. Whilst others were wary around her and careful about what they say, Gaara didn't seem to care. Sure, he didn't know what she had been through or what she was still going through, but it was still refreshing and kind of nice.

She and Gaara had been stationed to the second floor whilst Ino and Sai worked on the first floor and the janitor worked on the ground floor. They were told that they were to clean the bathrooms, hallways and classrooms and once they were done, they could leave. It tired Sakura out just the thought of all the rooms they were about to clean.

Gaara was pretty much silent as they started to clean the classrooms. As they moved from classroom to classroom, they would clean the corridors too. For someone who seemed so rebellious, Sakura was surprised that Gaara just got on with his punishment. Yesterday, hell even today, he had seemed like someone who was always just… bitter and angry. It was also strange to see him cleaning up. For some reason, she just couldn't see him as someone to do such a thing.

"It is still considered rude to stare."

Sakura blinked as she looked down at the rubbish bag in her hands before looking back at Gaara, who was now looking at her blankly. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sakura gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry." then, Sakura bit her lower lip as she looked from Gaara to the rubbish bag and back again. "I'm sorry about what Ino said, too. You know, about when she called you a 'nobody'."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't reply as he got back to work.

"You shouldn't listen to her." Sakura continued as she emptied the classroom bin into the rubbish bag. "When she saw you talking to me, she probably thought that it would anger or upset me if she belittled you."

Gaara made no move to face her as he started placing chairs on top of tables. "_You_ were the one talking to_ me_." he pointed out.

"Still," Sakura frowned as she got to helping him with the chairs, "it wasn't right of her to bring you into our argument or try to use you against me. I'm sorry that she did that."

"Hn." Gaara grunted as he lifted the last chair and placed it onto the table.

Sakura smiled sadly at his reply. Gaara had no idea that in some ways, he and Uchiha Sasuke were very much alike. The thought caused Sakura to pause briefly as she and Gaara moved onto the next classroom. She knew that it wasn't right of her to compare the two. For all she knew, they could absolutely hate each other. It wouldn't surprise Sakura in the least since Sasuke was about as social and kind as Gaara. Again, Sakura inwardly scolded herself. Who was she to decide who was kind or not? For all she knew, Gaara could be a really decent guy.

The thought of Gaara being a kind person was immediately ripped from her mind after he had pretty much completely ignored her for the rest of their detention. Whilst they had worked, Sakura had tried to talk to him, but he snubbed her each and every single time. Also, whenever she would smile at him, Gaara would either glare at her or roll his eyes. It made Sakura shake her head with disbelief and she had to stop herself from slamming the palm of her hand into her face.

When they were cleaning the bathrooms, Sakura grimaced as she scrunched her nose up slightly. As if amused by her reaction to the boys' bathroom, Gaara snorted before walking forward. However, he also couldn't help but pull a face at the smell. It reeked. Sakura had practically gagged from the smell, but Gaara hid his reaction well.

Sakura was quick to get to work as she began mopping the floor, hoping that the smell of disinfectant and bleach would either wash away or cover the smell of urine. In some ways, after about five minutes or so, it worked. Well, it definitely covered the smell, but neither Sakura nor Gaara were going to kid themselves by thinking it would be washed away.

"You know," Sakura spoke conversationally as she placed a hand on her hip whilst the other held onto the top of the mop's handle, "you guys' should really try to aim better. I think half of the stuff on the floor is piss!"

As he leaned out of one of the cubicles where he had been trying to wash graffiti off of the wall, Gaara gave her a blank look. "I don't use the school bathrooms."

"Oh?" Sakura raised a brow as she dragged her bucket over to where Gaara was. "And why is that?"

"For the very same reason you are complaining."

Sakura lifted her head and mouthed an 'oh'. "I guess that makes sense." she shrugged, getting back to work. "I hate using public bathrooms, too."

"Hn," was all she got in reply.

This time, however, Sakura couldn't stop herself from growling with annoyance. "You were complaining yesterday that I never noticed you before, but now that I'm trying to talk to you, you more or less ignore me!"

Gaara rolled his eyes as he started to scrub the wall once again.

"You're doing it again!"

He took a deep breath to keep himself calm as he sensed Sakura stop with mopping the floor.

"Why won't you reply to me?" Sakura snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Did I ever do anything to offend you? Have I said something wrong in the past?"

God he hated whiny bitches like her.

His entire body tensed as he felt Sakura lift her hand and go to place it on his shoulder to turn him around. However, before she could, he spun around and glared at her. In response to his glare, Sakura's eyes widened as she took a step back.

Never before had she ever seen someone look at her with so much anger and hatred. Actually, no, scratch that. She _had_ seen that look before and nothing good ever came out of it. Whenever she had received that look, only bad things happened afterwards.

Gaara ignored her more than obvious fear as he advanced on her. Each step he took, Sakura took a step back until she was pressed against the wall and visibly trembling. His eyes narrowed as he finally closed the distance between them, seeming to completely tower over the girl as he glared down at her. If he noticed Sakura trying everything she possibly could to blend into the wall, he didn't react to it. If anything, it made him angrier. Who did this girl think she was?

"Let's get one thing straight," he spat through clenched teeth, "I am_ not_ one of your pathetic, whiny friends. I don't follow you around like they _used_ to. In fact, I never have and never will follow you at all. I despise girls like _you_. Girls who think they own the place, girls who think that everybody loves them and worships them." Gaara leaned down further so that they were eye to eye, with only mere inches between their faces. "And if you ever try to touch me again, I will not hesitate in breaking your _fucking_ hand."

Sakura took a deep, shaky breath as she kept her eyes locked with Gaara's. Neither of them moved as they simply stared at each other. One with nothing more than anger and hatred in his eyes whilst the other held fear that was slowly dissipating into her own anger.

"I already told you," Sakura spoke as calmly as possible as she straightened up, "I'm not the same girl I used to be." her eyes narrowed as she forced back her tears. "Yes, I used to be all of those things you just mentioned, but today and even yesterday, I've tried to be nice to you. I've tried to be nice to everyone and what do I get?" she barked out a humourless laugh as her eyes darted to the side and then back to Gaara's. "The first moment I'm on my own, I'm more or less cornered. Whilst Ino screamed at me in front of everyone, whilst she physically attacked me, not one of my old friends tried to help me." her voice became nothing more than a whisper as Sakura leaned back into the wall and stared at him. "Not even Sasuke or Naruto helped me."

If Gaara was surprised by the amount of betrayal in her eyes, he didn't show it. He simply snorted, "From what I heard, you were the one who attacked Yamanaka."

She frowned. "I may have hit her first, but–"

"But nothing." Gaara snapped. "The things that happen when you're angry are things you've always wanted to say, wanted to do. Some part of you, no matter how much you want to deny it, has always wanted to hit that bitch. You've always wanted to hurt her."

The sad thing was that Sakura couldn't even deny it.

There had been many, _many_ times where she wished she could just hit her. Where she wished she could rub it in Ino's face that _she_ was with Sasuke, not her. There were so many times, more than Sakura could even count, that she would have done anything just to get Ino to shut the fuck up.

But things have changed now.

So why couldn't she deny it?

Gaara once again snorted as he took a step back. "That's what I thought."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, but didn't make any move to reply as she picked up her mop and continued her cleaning. As she did, Gaara also turned back to cleaning the cubicle, but the sound of her quiet voice made him pause.

"You won't hurt me."

Turning to face her once again, Gaara was surprised to find her staring at him with soft, hesitant eyes. "Don't tell me what I can and cannot do."

She shook her head softly. "That's not what I meant. I mean," Sakura took a deep breath as she looked at the ground and then back to him, "you won't hurt me. I can see it in your eyes." He must have looked shocked because Sakura gave him a small smile. "_Please_, I can tell the difference between a threat and a promise." she frowned for a second, but then her features straightened out. "If you really wanted to hurt me, you would have. It's not like I didn't know any better not to touch you, because Kakashi warned me yesterday, remember? This is the second time I went to touch you. I noticed the way you tensed up, but I still moved forward."

"That's because you're an idiot."

It surprised him even further when she chuckled. "That may be so, but I'm still right, aren't I?"

When Gaara didn't reply and simply turned around, Sakura smiled.

That was all the answer she needed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I don't usually update so many times in one week, I prefer updating once a week, but I just really wanted to keep posting.  
><strong>

**It seems like on my last two chapters the italics I used only showed up on certain parts, which kind of annoyed me. I mean, it gets a little annoying when you have to read the same chapter about five or six times to make sure it's exactly how you want it to be, only to find out that it isn't _after_ you've posted it.**

**Anyways, for those who want to know, I usually update once every week, on a Wednesday.**

**Have any of you been watching the Kakashi ANBU arc? I know it's only just started but oh my God. I love Kakashi.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review! :-)**


	4. What's The Worst That Could Happen?

**Chapter 4 – What's The Worst That Could Happen?**

When Sakura had decided on apologising to her old friends, she never realised that it would be much easier said than done.

It had been almost two weeks now since her return and whilst it wasn't that long, it felt like it had been months. She had waited a couple of days before attempting to fix the damage she had caused – but they all avoided her like she had the plague. There were many times when Naruto looked as though he wanted to talk to her, but right at the last minute, he would turn away. Every time that happened, it felt like it was killing Sakura inside. If Naruto, the kindest and most open minded person there was, refused to speak to her or hear her out, what chance did she have with Sasuke or Ino?

So in other words, school was tough. If it hadn't been for Kakashi who stayed by her side and didn't even seem to mind her company, Sakura was certain she would have given up by now. People still gave her funny looks when they saw her with him – no doubt it was because of him being an assistant for those with problems – but she had learned to somewhat ignore them. She still held her head high as she walked through the hallways. She still – in Ino's words – walked around as though she owned the place.

Why give them any more reasons to talk? That was what Sakura asked herself every day as she got up and acted as though everything was okay. There was a small part of her that was repeating that maybe, if she said it so many times, then it really will be okay.

* * *

><p>Oh how she was really starting to hate English.<p>

Sasuke still tensed whenever he heard her voice, he still ignored her and refused to even look at her. Seeing her reaction to_ his_ reaction, Kakashi had frowned and asked if she would be okay. It was like Sakura's body would deflate every time Sasuke ignored her and Kakashi could literally see the pain and hurt flash across her features as they scrunched up ever so slightly, like she was trying her hardest not to cry. At first, he hadn't been so sure, but now, Kakashi knew that something had gone on between the two of them, something serious and something that needed to be sorted. The only problem was, Sasuke refused to acknowledge Sakura.

And every day that passed, he could see the already very little amount of hope slowly diminish in Sakura's eyes.

The only good thing about her English class, to Sakura, was that she was starting to make a new friend. Sure, the girl was still quite shy around her, but Sakura didn't mind. She had realised that Hyuuga Hinata was actually a really nice person. Also, the girl helped Sakura stay calm. It wasn't with her words or her actions, it was just her aura. She was always so calm and at peace, even when she was nervous and stuttering.

"I heard that you're Gaara's partner." Kakashi said to Sakura.

Her head snapped up to look at Kakashi and due to her surprise she had missed how Sasuke's entire body twitched as though he wanted to turn around. However, it was not something that Kakashi had failed to notice. Sakura's brows furrowed as she looked up at him. "You've only just been told? I thought you were supposed to know everything about me."

Kakashi let out a low chuckle. "I only know what I'm told or what I read in your files." There was a short pause as he watched her carefully. "So how's it going?"

Sakura sighed as she leaned back in her seat, her eyes seeming much more tired. "He barely even speaks to me." a smile graced her lips however as she turned back to Kakashi. "But on the first day, I think I proved something to him!"

"And what would that be?"

"When I went to touch him – Kakashi don't give me that look!" Sakura huffed with annoyance at the shocked and angered look Kakashi was giving her, before he could scold her however, she continued. "It looked like he was going to hit me – hell I thought he _was_ going to hit me. But he didn't. He could have done anything to me because of the position he had me in, but instead, once he had yelled at me, he backed off. He didn't even lay a hand on me or ruffle a single hair. He didn't touch me at all."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "What you did was reckless, Sakura. I told you that he doesn't like being touched." Then, something made his eyes narrow even further. "What do you mean by the position he had you in?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't mean anything sexual, Kakashi!" she hissed and almost giggled at the shocked intake of breath from Hinata as she heard Sakura. "I was stupid enough to back up against a wall and was completely vulnerable. I should have known better than to back down like I did, but I was scared. But still, even though it was obvious he was pissed, he didn't raise a hand to hit me."

"It was still reckless, Sakura."

"Whatever." Sakura mumbled as she once again rolled her eyes, all traces of humour and happiness gone. "It's the last detention tonight anyway and after tonight, I doubt I'll ever speak to him again."

The older man frowned. "You don't seem too thrilled."

"I'm not." she shrugged, answering honestly as she rested her head in her raised hands. "He's the only one who doesn't speak to me like I'm glass, like I'm going to break. You have to look deep, but Gaara's an all right person, you know? I just think that, like me, he's seen some pretty messed up stuff." Sakura bit her lip as she looked up at Kakashi. "He's completely alone, isn't he?"

Kakashi raised a brow. "What makes you think that?"

Once again, Sakura shrugged. "It's in his eyes."

"I can't talk about other students, especially in a classroom where there are many people listening." as he said this, Kakashi's eyes slid over to Sasuke's tensed back and then over to Hinata's form, making Sakura remember where they were. "But I will tell you that even though you're–" he paused at her sharp look and sighed, skipping over what he was about to say. "Just know that you're lucky to have your parents by your side. Even though you don't speak to any of your old friends, at least you have parents who care for you and will stand by your side."

She nodded sadly. "They really do stick with you through anything, don't they? No matter how bad it gets, they're always there. I just wish… I just wish that others could be as understanding as them."

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since her fight with her ex–best friend, Yamanaka Ino. Despite being humiliated in front of the school, it was still pretty painful to think of Ino that way, as her <em>ex<em>–best friend. Since then, the bruising on Ino's face had gone down and it was pale enough now that it could easily be covered by makeup. Sakura wasn't really punched all that hard, so there wasn't a bruise.

Since it had been two weeks since their fight, Kakashi had suggested that they once again try to eat in the cafeteria. Sakura just suspected that he wanted to get rid of her sooner. Kakashi was too much of a gentleman to say it out loud, but she could see that he was a private man who appreciated having time alone to himself. Not only that, but she took up almost his entire day and there were other students in the school who had problems. Sure, there were other support teachers, but none as good as Hatake Kakashi.

Just like the first time entering the cafeteria, there was a lot of staring from the other students and as she and Kakashi made their way over to the queue, they passed Ino's table. If looks could kill, Sakura was certain she would be dead a hundred times over, if not more. You would think that after two weeks everything would have calmed down. But no, because it was the 'legendary' Haruno Sakura, nothing had changed.

Trying to keep up her act of being uncaring and confident was difficult, but she did it. Even when Kakashi used his 'I'm a teacher' excuse and jumped to the front of the queue – which, coincidently, put them right in front of Naruto and Sasuke – Sakura kept her back straight and eyes forward. She could feel their eyes on her, but Sakura refused to move her eyes even the smallest amount to the side to acknowledge them.

After a couple of minutes and no movement, however, Sakura looked up at Kakashi and narrowed her eyes. "Kakashi."

He turned his head to the side. "Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front!"

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well you see there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

Going back to ignoring everyone, Sakura drummed her fingers against her upper arm, trying to keep herself from looking at the two boys beside her. They were still looking at her, she could feel their eyes on her, and it took everything in her to not look back. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn't say any of it in a lunch line. It wasn't the right time or setting. Naruto would be hungry and Sasuke would prefer to talk in privacy. Hell, given the situation, even Naruto would prefer to talk in private.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" at his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

Once they had collected their lunch, the two made their way over to a table. Sakura didn't know how Kakashi did it! He didn't even seem bothered by the fact a lot of people were staring at them. If anything, he looked bored. Was it an act? If it was, Kakashi was a good actor. Perhaps she should ask him for lessons?

"You know," Sakura said thoughtfully as she picked at her sandwich, "I think I've spent more time with you in the past two weeks than I have with anyone else."

Kakashi gave her a cheery smile. "Is that your way of saying you enjoy my company?"

She smirked. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Hatake."

"I know you like me really." Kakashi then turned serious as he pointed to her food. "Eat."

With a groan of annoyance, Sakura did as she was told. "You're as bad as my mother."

* * *

><p>His expressionless eyes didn't leave her face for a second. It was like everywhere he went, she was there! Couldn't he catch a break? What had he done in his past life to deserve something like this? Out of all the people to annoy him, it just<em> had<em> to be Haruno Sakura. She just_ had_ to return to Konoha High and make his life just that much harder, didn't she?

It was obvious she could feel his and Naruto's eyes on her, because she was holding herself a little too well. Whilst Sakura had always been the kind of girl who stood tall and had good posture, she preferred to slouch since it was more comfortable. Sasuke was certain she had picked that up from the idiot beside him, but he didn't ever bring that accusation up. To do so would start an argument between him and his best friend and even though it had been over eight months now, things were still a little tense and uncomfortable between them at times.

Naruto had never fully forgiven Sasuke for what he did and honestly, Sasuke couldn't even blame the blond. What he had done was a really shitty thing for a best friend to do, but what could he say? That he was sorry? That he regretted it? Because he wasn't and didn't. It was strange. Whilst being with Sakura had caused him pain and confusion and anger, he didn't regret it for a single second because it also brought him relief, pleasure and maybe even happiness. If he regretted anything, it would be how he handled the situation with Naruto. Why couldn't he have remained calm? He bet his older brother, Itachi, would have been able to. Bastard.

Suddenly, Sakura's head snapped up as she glared at the silver haired support teacher beside her. "Kakashi."

Why did her voice make him tense whenever he heard it? Why did it feel like he was being punched in the stomach?

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front!"

Ah, so he and Naruto were making her uncomfortable? It hadn't been _that_ obvious until she mentioned it.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well you see there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

He hated it when she stood like that, mostly because of the way her breasts would push together. The only reason he could tell was because he was much taller than her and she always had the top two or three buttons of her blouse undone, revealing her cleavage. Before, Sasuke had disliked her doing that because they had been somewhat together and she was _his_. He didn't like it when other guys ogled what was his. But now, he disliked it because she wasn't his anymore and he didn't like being reminded of that fact. Sasuke didn't like being reminded of the fact that she had just left him, without warning and without an explanation.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" at his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

On the outside, Sasuke remained expressionless as he watched Sakura pick up her lunch before paying and walking away, but on the inside, he was frowning. By the look on Kakashi's face, Sasuke was guessing that Sakura didn't eat, but it didn't seem right to him. She looked the same size she had been before she left! Was that why she had left? Did she have an eating disorder? Sasuke shook his head as he grabbed his lunch, paid for it and walked away. He couldn't imagine Sakura not eating. Back before she left, she had eaten anything you put in front of her!

"Oi, Sasuke?"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke looked across the table at Naruto, who was currently frowning at him. "What?"

"Do you think something's wrong with Sakura?"

That was also something that changed. Naruto no longer called Sakura 'Sakura–chan'. It didn't seem like much, but for those who were closest to them, it meant a lot. "It's not our concern."

"Look at her!" Naruto hissed, suddenly seeming angry. "How can you say she isn't our concern?"

With a sigh, Sasuke looked over at Sakura's table where she sat with Kakashi. She was picking at her sandwich, looking utterly miserable. It was strange seeing her that way. He was used to seeing her with a bright smile on her face. Then, Sakura smirked as she said something to Kakashi, who was smiling cheerfully at her. "Look," Sasuke grunted as he looked back at his food, "not our concern."

What he had missed when he turned away was Kakashi forcing Sakura to eat, which wasn't something Naruto missed as he then looked back at Sasuke and frowned. "I thought you would have cared more about her, considering everything that happened between you both."

Why was this idiot his best friend? Sasuke didn't even know anymore. Hell, he couldn't even remember how they became friends again. "I could say the same to you."

That silenced him.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was kind of a blur to Sakura. One moment she's sat in maths and then the next, school is over and she's walking with Gaara to detention. Since they were in the same class last period, they went to detention together. He hadn't really wanted to, but she talked him round. Well, she walked faster so that they were walking together and he had to accept the fact she just wasn't going away.<p>

When they arrived, Ino and Sai were already headed off to the stairs leading to level one. After the second or third day, the janitor had told them not to bother waiting for him and that they should just get changed and get started.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura looked up from putting her feet through the legs of her overalls and raised an eyebrow at Gaara, who was looking at her like she had grown a second head. "I'm putting the overalls on to protect my clothing…" Sakura replied slowly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, not liking that she was talking to him like he was an idiot. "In front of me."

Realising why he was so bothered, Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled the overalls up her legs before tucking her skirt in and lifting it over her hips. "Relax." she told him. "I'm wearing shorts under my skirt."

"Do you change in front of just anyone?"

At his condescending tone, Sakura's head snapped up from fastening the buttons to glare at him. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"I was led to believe that girls appreciated privacy, at least those with dignity." Gaara smirked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You're an ass." Sakura muttered as she went to walk past him to grab the cleaning supplies. However, at his next four words, Sakura paused in front of him.

"And you're a slut."

Before Gaara could even react, Sakura's fist connected with his face, causing a sickening crack to sound and him to stumble backwards until he was against the wall. "_Who do you think you are_?" she screamed at him, trying to ignore the throbbing coming from her fist. Tears came to her eyes, but like the pain in her hand, she tried to ignore them. "You don't even know me!" she continued. "All you know about me is my name and rumours that have been spread."

Gaara raised a hand to his cheek but dropped it back to his side when the pain flared. His fists clenched tightly as he stood straighter, a murderous glare focusing on Sakura's trembling form. The girl looked like she was about to break down into tears, but at the same time, she looked like she wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp!

"I'm different now." her voice dropped to a whisper, one that sounded strained. "I'm better."

As soon as the last two words left her lips, tears started to fall silently down her cheeks, completely surprising Gaara. What the hell was happening? One moment she was happy, the next she was angry and now, she's crying? "Why are you crying?" the question sounded more like a demand.

"I'm trying," she hiccuped, "to be different. I want to be better!"

He really had no idea what was happening and what made it worse was that she suddenly grabbed a hold of him and _wouldn't let go_. His immediate reaction was to hit her until she let go, but he couldn't. To hit a woman, especially a woman who couldn't defend themselves and was vulnerable, was just wrong and dishonourable. It was also pathetic and made you look like nothing more than a weakling. His second reaction was for his entire body to tense. He didn't like being touched and because of that, among other reasons, nobody touched him. So having a girl gripping him tightly as she cried was definitely not something Gaara wanted. It was practically an assault!

"Let me go." he growled.

His words and tone seemed to have no affect however, as Sakura did the exact opposite and tightened her grip. "I," she paused as a sob shook her body, "I'm sorry… for hitting you. I didn't… you just… I was angry."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He didn't care for her apology. "Let me go."

Still, Sakura refused to release him. "Please don't be mad at me." she whispered. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry!"

Where the hell was this coming from? Why was she acting so afraid? Why was she holding him so tightly? Why was she looking for comfort from him? Why wouldn't she just let him go? Trying to seem as calm as possible, Gaara took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm not mad."

Sakura lifted her head to look at him and Gaara had to hold back the sneer at how pathetic and hopeful she looked. He preferred it when she was angry with him. "You're not?"

Slowly his fists unclenched as he moved them to her arms, unlocking them from around his waist and holding her at arms–length. "No."

His words seemed to help Sakura calm down as she also took a deep breath. "I'm still sorry." her voice was stronger now, even though she was avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Whatever."

With that, the two got to work.

* * *

><p>For what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, Sakura hissed with pain before dropping the mop and clutching her hand to her chest. "It's broken." she whined. "Look at it! It's already swelling." when she received no reply, Sakura looked up at her partner. "Gaara, this is <em>your<em> fault. _Help me_!"

"How is it my fault?" he asked in a bored tone. Stepping out of the cubicle, Gaara gave her a look to match his tone. "You were the one who punched me."

"That was because you were being an ass!" she snapped before taking a deep breath. "Will you just look at it for me?"

Shaking his head, Gaara moved back to the cubicle. "No."

"Why are you such a jerk?" Sakura once again hissed with pain as her hand unconsciously tried to form into a fist. "_Damn it_!"

There was a sigh of annoyance before suddenly, somebody was beside her. You could tell just by how tense his body was that Gaara didn't want to help her. Not only that, but it was obvious that he didn't want to touch her either. If she hadn't known that he felt that way about everyone, she would have taken offence. Thankfully, not only Kakashi, but also Gaara himself had filled her in.

His hands were cool against her skin as he took her wrist and pulled her arm away from her chest. Each movement was slow and surprisingly careful, as though he was trying not to cause her anymore pain. Knowing Gaara – sort of – Sakura knew that it was only so she didn't start whining again.

"It looks like you've broken two fingers and three knuckles." he muttered as he inspected each finger and knuckle. "And you have sprained your wrist." he looked down at her with annoyance, his hands still holding hers. "Don't you know how to throw a punch?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! It's just when I get angry…"

"You act without thinking." Gaara finished for her when she trailed off.

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah."

Neither of them had pulled away yet, Sakura because she didn't want to move her hand and bring back the pain that his cool fingers was numbing slightly and Gaara because… actually, he wasn't sure why he hadn't moved yet. What he did know was that she had finally shut up complaining and he would do anything, _anything_, to keep her quiet.

"Do you have a car?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't have one anymore, so I need a lift to the hospital." at the face he was pulling, Sakura sighed. "I know, I know, gas costs a fortune. How about you drive me there, take me home and when we get there, I'll give you the money to refill your car?"

"Why would you give me money?" Gaara asked suspiciously. "You said that I'm the one who broke your hand."

Sakura shrugged and a small smile graced her lips. "Just accept my offer, Gaara. It's not like I have anything else to spend my money on." a humourless chuckle escaped her lips as she looked down at their hands, but when she spoke, her voice was quiet. "I have no friends now, remember?"

"Whatever." Gaara told her before letting go of her hand.

Even though they hadn't finished their level of the school, the two put away their cleaning supplies, removed their overalls – Gaara had reluctantly given Sakura a hand with removing hers, much to his chagrin. He was grateful that she wore her uniform underneath her overalls and shorts underneath her skirt. If she didn't, it would have been a hell of a lot more awkward.

Ino and Sai had passed the pair as Gaara was helping Sakura out of her overalls and when she had seen them, Ino had laughed. She then went on to ask Sakura if she had gotten so desperate that she would have sex in a janitor's closet with Gaara, to which Sakura replied that at least it wasn't a public bathroom with Kiba, making Ino scream with annoyance, humiliation and anger, before stomping away.

"Did she really have sex in a bathroom?" Sai asked, watching Ino quickly disappear around the corner before he turned to look at Sakura and Gaara.

Sakura shrugged. "Yes, she did and the only reason I said it is because I'm sick of her treating me like crap. Not only that, but she keeps bringing Gaara into our fights. It's not fair to him."

"I don't need you to defend me." Gaara growled.

"Well that's too bad."

Sai looked between the pair before finally asking, "So why is Gaara undressing you in a janitor's closet?"

"She broke her hand." Gaara told him quickly.

"Punching his face." Sakura added cheerfully.

The pale boy looked between them with an empty expression, but they could tell that he was more or less shocked. "You punched him?" Sai asked in bewilderment as he took a step closer and examined Gaara's left cheek. Sure enough, there was a little swelling. "Why?"

For what felt like the millionth time that day, Sakura shrugged. "He said something I didn't like."

"And you punched him for it?"

"And yelled at him." her cheery tone was back before she hissed. "Careful!" she snapped at Gaara, who had just jostled her hand when pulling the sleeve over it. Sakura was certain that he did it on purpose.

Gaara let go of the overalls and if the closet hadn't been so small, he would have taken a step back. "Fine, you can do it yourself." As Sakura looked at him with wide eyes and was just about to complain, he stepped forward with a growl of annoyance. "Shut up, then."

It didn't take all that long for them to change, return their cleaning equipment and grab their things from their lockers before finally leaving the school. Sakura would say that it had taken them no more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes. She had decided to call her mother when she was in the car, since she only had one hand to use and at that moment in time, she was carrying her jacket since it was too big to fit in her bag. Thankfully, her bag was a leather backpack, so she simply slipped that onto her shoulders. If she hadn't been so grateful for the lift, Sakura would have snapped at Gaara for not being a gentleman and offering to carry her things. However, given the fact that this was Gaara she was with, she kept her mouth shut.

The phone only rang twice before her mother answered. "_I didn't expect for you to ring so soon! Is your detention over already, Sakura_?"

Did her mother have to make her sound like she was some sort of out of control delinquent? "No." Sakura said slowly before clearing her throat. "I'm… going out with a friend."

Gaara shot her a dark look, but Sakura ignored him as she listened to Mebuki. "_What friend? I know it isn't Sasuke, he passed me whilst I was on my way home. Is it Naruto_?"

"No, it's not Naruto." she told her mother, trying to speak passed the lump in her throat. "He's still avoiding me, can't blame him really." Just as Mebuki was about to speak up, Sakura interrupted her. "I'm with a new friend and his name is Gaara. We're going out for a bite to eat, so I just called to tell you that I won't need a lift."

She could almost _hear_ her mother's glare. "_You are not going out, not without my permission! Come home, Sakura_."

Because of how loud she was being, Gaara overheard and raised a brow at her, but Sakura simply shook her head. "See you later!"

With that, she hung up, switched her phone off and groaned as her head fell back against the headrest.

"I know she means well." Sakura said suddenly, almost speaking to herself. "But sometimes… I just wish she wouldn't try to control everything I do. And I know I'm lucky to still have her, especially after all the crap I've put her through, but I just want her to trust me more, you know?"

Gaara didn't reply, because honestly, he didn't know.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Okay, let me just say this: I hate, hate, _hate,_ Karin and Matsuri. I really cannot stand them and not only because Matsuri likes Gaara or Karin likes Sasuke, they just really piss me off. Sorry if I've offended anyone by that (I know how scary some parts of this fandom can be), but in my honest opinion, Karin is pathetic and acts like she's having an orgasm when Sasuke bites her and Matsuri is more useless than Sakura _used to be_.  
><strong>

**That's another thing I hate! When people say that Sakura is useless and she only defeated Sasori because Chiyo was there. Well, if Sakura wasn't there, Chiyo would have been defeated quickly. They worked as a team and defeated him together.**

**Anyways, I'm going to go and read the latest Naruto chapter!**

**Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! :-)**


	5. Misunderstanding

**Chapter 5 – Misunderstanding**

There were some things better left unsaid, but her family had never been good at _not_ saying things. Well, her mother wasn't. Her father wasn't really a man of many words. If he got involved, it meant it was about something serious, or he just wanted everyone else to shut up.

Sakura currently found herself sitting beside Gaara on the sofa in her living room with her mother pacing in front of them. Everybody was tense and stressed, Mebuki was red in the face due to her anger, Gaara's fists were clenched and pressing tightly into his thighs and Sakura repeatedly had to stop herself from screaming. What made it worse was that Mebuki hadn't even seen her cast yet since it was hidden underneath her jacket.

It didn't make much sense to try and hide something like a broken hand from her mother, especially since her doctor would be ringing Mebuki shortly. She had asked Shizune to wait until she managed to speak to Mebuki first. The older woman had reluctantly agreed after making Sakura promise to tell her mother.

Gaara hadn't come into the hospital with her. Well, he came in, but he didn't come with her to be examined and part of her was grateful for that. Shizune knew a lot about her, not everything, but enough to make anybody run a mile. After all, who would want a girl who has so many problems hanging around them? No, he simply stayed in the waiting room and after a two hour wait (and that was _before_ she had been seen to), they came to her house, where they were currently under interrogation.

The person Sakura felt sorry for the most was Gaara. The poor guy had only come into her home for the money to refill his car when Mebuki – for lack of better word – pounced.

"What's going on?"

Sakura turned to look over her shoulder and almost groaned at the sight of her father. She hadn't even realised it had gotten so late! On normal work days, Kazashi was always home by eight. "Mom," Sakura said slowly, "I'm sure Gaara has places he needs to be."

"We need to talk about this, Sakura." Mebuki snapped as she placed her fisted hands onto her hips. Gaara immediately recognised the pose as one similar to Sakura's. It was something she did when she was angry. "What have you been doing for the past four hours? You left detention early! I had Sarutobi–sama on the phone, asking where you had disappeared to. Do you know how worried I was? You simply rang me, telling me you were going out for something to eat with this… this _boy_!"

The pink haired girl immediately shot up out of her seat, her eyes glaring at her mother. "Don't speak about my friend like that!" she yelled angrily as she slammed her jacket to the floor. "Do you want to know why I left detention early?" Sakura raised her cast and waved it in the air. "I left because I broke my hand!"

Mebuki's eyes widened dramatically as she shot forward, taking a closer look at the red cast covering her daughter's hand. "Oh, Sakura." the older woman gasped. "What happened?"

"I slipped." she lied, earning a raised brow from Gaara. "We were mopping the bathroom and I wasn't being careful."

"And this boy helped you?"

At the sight of Gaara immediately tensing, Sakura smirked. "Yeah, that's why I brought Gaara back here, to give him the money for the gas. You're always complaining about how expensive it's gotten, so I felt bad for making him waste it by taking me to the hospital and bringing me home. I'm sorry for lying to you about going out for something to eat, but I didn't want to worry you. You've been so busy with the company lately and I didn't want you to get any more stressed."

Gaara couldn't believe that Sakura could lie so easily! And it sounded so convincing too. If he hadn't known the true story, he might have even believed her! The concern for her mother was definitely real, you could tell by the look in her eyes as she said it, but the rest were all lies. Yes, he had come back here for the money and yes, he had helped her, but she hadn't slipped. No, she had broken her hand by punching _his_ face.

"Oh well if that's the case," Mebuki said a little unsurely before turning to Gaara and smiling, "would you like to join us for dinner, Gaara–kun?"

His eyes widened ever so slightly. Did she seriously just call him 'Gaara–_kun'_? Nobody had ever called him that before! And what was that about dinner? Just as he opened his mouth to say no, he caught Sakura's pleading features, obviously asking him to stay. Not only hers, but also her mother's. Hell, even her father had walked further into the room and was smiling at him. What the hell kind of family was this? Why did Sakura look so uncomfortable?

"I will need to call my sister." he said a little reluctantly.

Sakura's beaming smile took him by surprise. Had she really wanted him to stay that badly? Why would she want that? Before he could say anything, Sakura turned to her mother. "How long will dinner be?"

Looking down at her watch, Mebuki did a quick calculation. "I'd say about half an hour, possibly forty five minutes depending on the potatoes. Gaara–kun, are you allergic to anything?"

"Not that I am aware of."

She nodded before disappearing with Kazashi close behind her, leaving just him and Sakura in the living room. The latter sighed with relief as she fell back onto the same sofa as him, letting her head hit the cushions.

"Thank you for staying." Sakura said quietly, not looking him in the eyes. "As you just saw, my mom can be a little too much sometimes."

"So you decided to make me suffer with you?"

Sakura chuckled as she turned her head to look at him. "Absolutely." then she stood up, gesturing with her head for him to follow. "My money is upstairs and you can use the house phone in my room." she bit her lip slightly as she took her first step on the stairs. "I'd let you use my mobile, but it's for emergencies only and I'm not really supposed to give that number out."

"Why?" he couldn't stop himself from asking as he followed her up the stairs.

Shrugging, Sakura continued her journey to the bedroom. "It'd suck if I have to change numbers all the time." Now that they were at the top of the stairs with Gaara by her side, she could see him looking at her in what she presumed as questioningly. "You've probably noticed that nobody particularly likes me." Again, Sakura shrugged as though she didn't care. "If they got hold of my number, no doubt my phone would blow up with hate messages and prank calls."

Gaara didn't know what to say to her, so he simply walked beside her silently.

"This is my room." Sakura said a little awkwardly as she pushed open the door before smiling. "Huh, looks like my mom's been in here again. She's the only one who ever cleans it." When she received no reply, Sakura walked over to her bed and picked up the phone sitting beside it on the table. "Here. You can ring your sister on this."

He nodded once, not feeling very comfortable to do much else. It was strange because he had never been invited over to somebody's house before, let alone a girl's. As though that wasn't weird enough, they were in her bedroom and she was currently sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and her back against the headboard. To stop herself from showing her shorts, she placed a cushion on top of her legs, covering the view. Gaara found himself feeling grateful for that. It was already awkward, why add more?

It took a couple of moments before somebody finally answered the phone.

"_What_?"

His upper lip curled at how his sister answered the phone. "It's me."

"_Gaara,_" she gasped, "_where are you_?"

"I'm at a…" his voice trailed off as he looked at Sakura. She was currently messing with a piece thread on her cushion. Gaara sighed before narrowing his eyes and speaking again. "I'm at a friend's house."

He was met by silence.

Then, Temari finally spoke, "_A friend, eh_?" she asked slyly. "_Has my baby brother finally got a girlfriend_?"

Before she could say anything more, Gaara hung up.

Sakura grinned as he handed her the phone. "So we're friends, then?"

"…I suppose."

If it was possible, Sakura's smile grew until it looked as though it was about to split her face in half. He found himself inwardly frowning. Did having a friend really mean that much to Sakura? Was it only because she now had none? Correction, was it because she now only had _one_ friend?

"Awesome!" she then chuckled as she added, "And it only took you breaking my hand for us to become friends!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "You broke your own damn hand."

It seemed as though his admittance to them being friends had made her playful as she stuck out her tongue. "Whatever you say, Gaara–_kun_." Before he could say anything, she started to laugh. "My mom has never called any of my friends 'kun'. It's always 'san' or nothing at all! It's so weird hearing her say that."

"I've never been called that before." he admitted to her.

Sakura's eyes widened as her laughter died down. "Never?"

"Never. Or at least, not that I am aware of."

"Oh," she said a little awkwardly before smiling brightly, "well at least now you can say you have!"

"Hn," Gaara grunted as he then looked around Sakura's bedroom.

It was a pretty girly room, though there were many different pieces of furniture or items to keep it from looking too girly. For example, her collection of manga and anime was definitely not a very girly thing. What was she watching? Death Note? Dragonball Z? He hadn't watched that in years. Who would have guessed a girl like Sakura would watch something like that? As his eyes continued to look around the room, Gaara couldn't even deny that he was impressed with her large collection of music and movies, but then again, she was a rich kid. She got anything and everything she wanted.

Then, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. As he looked at it, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Where is the tower for your computer?"

Sakura 'hummed' in question before following his gaze, her own eyes narrowing but for different reasons. "My mom doesn't want me to go on any social networking sites."

"Why?"

First, Sakura tells him that she's not supposed to give out her phone number and then the next she tells him that she's not allowed to go on any social networking sites? What was up with that? Her mother hadn't seemed that bad when they were downstairs, but perhaps he read her wrong?

"Same reason as the phone," Sakura shrugged, "people."

Made sense, Gaara decided. It was no secret that Sakura wasn't very popular anymore. Well, she was still popular, but the students at their school didn't respect her anymore. Instead, they all pretty much hated her. It confused the hell out of him. Sure, she had been pretty unbearable and stuck up before she disappeared, but what about now? It was obvious to anyone that Sakura had definitely changed. She was still unbearable, but it was with niceness now instead of her bitchiness. However, it didn't take a genius to know that if she reactivated any of her old accounts, she would have loads of hate mail. Some of it would be old, some could be new.

He didn't use any of those sites for that particular reason. They annoyed the hell out of him. Yes, a lot of things annoyed him and made him angry, but that was beside the point.

Again, something else caught his eyes. "You play the guitar?"

"I'm not great at it." Sakura told him honestly with a chuckle before she grew more sombre. "Sasuke's older brother gave me a few lessons as a kid and I've been practising since then."

Gaara was genuinely surprised. Like the anime and manga, he didn't peg Sakura as somebody who could play an instrument. Perhaps she was right? Maybe he shouldn't have judged her by what he had heard about her. It seemed like every time he was with Sakura, she managed to surprise him!

She smiled a little nervously, once again surprising him. "I can play you something… if you like?"

"Sure." he wasn't too bothered about her playing him some music. It would certainly pass time before they could eat. Now that he thought about it, Gaara found himself feeling rather hungry. He hadn't eaten since lunch – it was Sakura's fault really if you were putting blame onto someone. If she hadn't punched him, they wouldn't have had to go to hospital.

Sakura's smile grew as she leaned over the bed and reached for her guitar and Gaara looked at the far wall as her skirt revealed a little too much to him. As soon as she grabbed her guitar, Sakura rolled her eyes at Gaara and fixed her skirt. Honestly, she couldn't see what the big deal was! She was wearing shorts under her skirt.

Her eyes moved down to the guitar, making sure she didn't make any mistakes. It would be especially hard with her cast on, but thankfully, it wouldn't be too bad and thanks to the painkillers, it didn't hurt as much either. Still, she made sure she made no mistakes. Playing to herself was easy, but playing to someone else, especially Gaara? It was pretty big. Gaara wasn't a person to compliment you and he would rather laugh at you than say something nice. Biting her bottom lip and pushing away her negative thoughts, she started to play her guitar. She missed the look of surprise on his face as she also started to sing.

"_As reason clouds my eyes with splendour fading. Illusions of the sunlight. And a reflection of a lie, will keep me waiting. With love gone, for so long_." her voice was soft and gentle as she watched her own fingers dance across the strings, the music accompanying her voice also slow and gentle. "_And this day's ending, is the proof of time killing all the faith I know. Knowing that faith is all I hold._"

The music stopped, but Gaara could tell that it wasn't over because her eyes were still watching her hands. After a small pause, her singing continued, without music. "_And I've lost_," her voice sounded stronger now and as the guitar joined her voice, that too was stronger and louder, "_who I am, and I can't understand, why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love. Without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on. But I know all I know is that the end's beginning."_

Her brows knitted together slightly as she continued. "_Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart. Let me go and I will run. I will not be silent! All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain. All is lost; hope remains, and this war's not over. There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones to the place we belong, and his love will conquer all. His love will conquer all."_

Once again, Sakura's voice was softer and quieter, as was her music. "_Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding. Fall into your sunlight…_"

As the music drifted off, Sakura gripped a tighter hold of the guitar and looked at Gaara with suddenly shy eyes, but he couldn't say a word. He was honestly surprised at how much meaning there was behind her song and how much emotion had been in her voice and eyes. Yes, she hadn't been looking at him, but that didn't mean he hadn't been looking at her. It was obvious this song meant a lot to Sakura and whilst she didn't have the strongest singing voice, it was still soft and relaxing.

Finally, Gaara spoke up. "Did you write that yourself?"

"Yeah," she nodded before clearing her throat and frowning, "but it's not finished yet."

"I see." Sakura bit her lip at his response, trying to stop herself from smashing her guitar over his head. Why was he keeping her in suspense? Then, he spoke again. "It has a meaning."

One hand letting go of her guitar, Sakura scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah," she repeated. "It's a personal song."

"You should finish it."

A bright smile lit up Sakura's face. That was as close to a compliment as you could get from Sabaku Gaara! However, instead of teasing him about it, Sakura simply placed her guitar down on the floor, leaning it up against the wall. "It's hard." she told him with a sheepish smile. "The last couple of lines came to me so easily, but the rest took time." When he didn't reply, Sakura changed the subject. "So I saw you checking out my anime collection." she teased lightly. "Do you like anime too?"

"It passes the time." Gaara told her as he once again looked up at her collection before looking back down at her. "I wouldn't have thought you would like it."

She shrugged. "At first, I didn't. I thought that people who liked it were weird, geeky people who live in their mom's basements. But then I actually started watching it and… well, I got hooked. As you can probably tell," she once again smiled sheepishly, "Dragonball Z is my favourite."

"I suppose everybody used to watch it at one point." Gaara shrugged.

"So who's your favourite character? Is it Vegeta?" When he raised a brow at her, Sakura smirked. "Well you _are_ the 'bad boy' sort. And you have a bad temper." Her smirk then turned into a smile. "I think Vegeta's my favourite character, anyways. He's so misunderstood! They all think he's evil because he wants to be, but really, that Frieza guy made him that way!" Gaara had to stop himself from smirking at how seriously Sakura took the anime. She must have noticed his barely restrained smirk because Sakura suddenly rolled her eyes. "I know, I know! I take it way too seriously, but can you blame me? I have no friends. Well, besides you." At this, she suddenly smiled brightly before calming down. "Anyway, you didn't answer. Who's your favourite character?"

He rolled his eyes. "I haven't watched it in years, but," Gaara thought it over for a while before answering, "Vegeta or Piccolo."

"Are you saying Vegeta just because I did?" Sakura teased.

"No!" Gaara frowned before continuing. "He was always underestimated and they treated him like he was heartless, though near the end of Dragonball Z, Vegeta redeems himself by giving his life to protect his family and everyone on Earth. It's the same with Piccolo."

She was slightly stunned by how much Gaara had said before she grinned. "Now who's taking it seriously?"

Once again, Gaara rolled his eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

As Gaara's eyes continued their inspection of Sakura's bedroom, they widened as he felt himself choke on thin air. After a moment of Sakura staring at him in surprise, he finally managed to choke out, "A–Are those the _Icha Icha_ books?"

* * *

><p>He was right, as usual.<p>

It _was_ a long night.

After two hours of having to sit with Sakura and her parents, Gaara was finally driving home. Damn it! How the hell did he get himself into situations such as those? Honestly, Gaara wasn't sure who to feel sorry for, himself for having to sit through that awful meal, or for Sakura who had to put up with her parents every day.

Whilst they were eating, Mebuki had spoken with Sakura but for some reason, her questions had suddenly been shot towards him. At one point, Gaara had even felt like he was prey being hunted. It was not a feeling he enjoyed. The foolish woman had asked him how long he had been seeing her daughter for, to which Gaara hadn't been entirely sure how to answer. So, he answered honestly, that they had met outside of Sarutobi's office. Then, when Sakura had shot him a wide eyed look, Gaara knew he hadn't said the right thing because suddenly, the questions came much faster and in a much more excited tone. Mebuki had asked many different things, but Gaara didn't remember any of those other, unimportant questions as a certain one hit him.

When would he be taking Sakura on a date?

At that question, both Sakura and Gaara had started choking on their food, causing her parents to look at them strangely.

Had Gaara ever mentioned that he hated women? At first it had just been girls, but now, it was fully grown women too. It seemed even after graduating from high school, they still kept their idiotic, childish and gossiping personalities. Even when they became successful businesswomen who were supposed to be serious and whatnot, there was still that a part of them that was just as annoying as they had been during their teenage years.

After Sakura had explained to Mebuki that they were only friends, it had become quiet and even a little uncomfortable. Well, for Gaara and Sakura it had been uncomfortable.

When she had walked him to the car, her features had been slightly sad. It wasn't until he was about to get in that she finally spoke though, asking if they were still friends despite what her mother thought. Gaara had simply shrugged and asked her why her mother would be able to change his mind. If he was going to be friends with someone, he wasn't going to just abandon them because of their idiotic parents. Sakura hadn't been too pleased when he had called Mebuki idiotic, but she hadn't argued either. Instead, Sakura had simply smiled at him and told him to drive safely before handing over the money for gas.

With that, Gaara had left with only one thought on his mind:

At least he now knew why Sakura was so annoying; it was because she lived with Mebuki.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Happy Valentine's Day!  
><strong>

**Oh and for the person who asked, Kakashi is however old he is in the anime, so about thirty or thirty one.**

**Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! :-)**


	6. I Don't Understand

**Chapter 6 – I Don't Understand**

Ino glared at Sai with annoyance. "You're such a twit."

"A twit is defined as a pregnant goldfish. I am neither pregnant nor a fish." he told her with a frown settling on his features, showing his confusion.

The blonde rolled her eyes and groaned. "I didn't–" Ino cut off from her sentence as she growled. "Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"If that is what you wish, Ino–san."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the two, even when Ino shot her a dark look and stormed off. To this, Sakura simply laughed harder whilst Sai approached her, a polite smile gracing his lips. In a way, Sai kind of reminded Sakura of Sasuke. Not in the way he acted, but his looks. Like Sasuke, Sai was… was pretty the wrong word to use to describe a guy? Perhaps so, but that was the only word right now that Sakura wanted to use for Sai.

"Hello, Sakura–san." Sai greeted her before looking down at her hand and frowning. "What happened to your hand? Are you okay?"

"You can just call me 'Sakura', Sai." she smiled in return as they started to walk towards their first class. "It turns out I broke my hand on Friday, remember in the closet? Other than that though, I'm fine, are you?"

Sai nodded. "Oh, I remember. And I am well, thank you for asking." he then looked thoughtful as he looked down at Sakura. "Sakura, is it normal for a girl to call you a pregnant goldfish?"

She couldn't help but laugh,_ loudly_. It was the kind of laugh that caused your entire body to tremble as tears formed in your eyes. Okay, so there weren't tears in her eyes, but she was shaking and had to refrain from clutching her sides. When Sai had asked her that question, his face had seemed so serious yet confused all at the same time. "No, Sai," Sakura spoke in between laughs, "she wasn't calling you a pregnant goldfish. Ino was calling you a name. I'd say she wasn't, but she most likely _was_ trying to insult you."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it though." Sakura told him as she finally managed to calm herself. It seemed her hysterical laughter had caused quite a few heads to turn, much to her annoyance. "Ino insults everyone, it's who she is."

"Why does she try to insult people?"

Sighing, Sakura looked up at him and shrugged. "Beats me, it's just something she has always done."

"I read that in order to make friends, you have to be kind and friendly. How is it that Ino–san has friends if she insults them?"

He looked genuinely confused and seeing this made Sakura smile softly. It seemed as though Sai honestly didn't understand the whole friendship and popularity thing. Sakura could understand a little, since it still confused her. However, she had heard that Sai had no friends, so he most likely didn't understand at all. "Do you understand popularity?" when Sai nodded once, Sakura continued. "You see, when you're popular, everybody knows who you are and wants to be your friend so that _they_ can be popular. Some mistake those kinds of people as real friends."

"Are you saying that Ino–san doesn't have real friends?"

Sakura bit her lip for a second, trying to remember everyone who Ino was friends with. "Some of them are real friends." she started slowly. "I know this because they were once my friends, too. We've all known each other since we were just little kids."

"If they're real friends, why aren't they your friends now?"

The question made a lump rise in Sakura's throat. "Some people do things that can't be forgiven." she whispered before looking up at Sai and coming to an abrupt stop. "I'm sorry; I forgot I need to see somebody before class. Tell our teacher and Hatake Kakashi that I'm going to be a little late, okay?"

Sai frowned when he saw her tear filled eyes, but said nothing about it as he instead nodded. "Of course, Sakura."

"Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder before all but running down the corridor towards the girls' bathroom.

Due to lessons starting, there wasn't anybody in the bathroom as Sakura burst in and immediately went to one of the cubicles. Her heart was beating hard and fast and she knew it would only be a matter of moments before her tears came. No, make that matter of a single second. Sakura quickly grabbed some tissue before dabbing under her eyes. If she was going to cry, she had to make sure nobody could tell, which meant her makeup had to stay more or less perfect. It wasn't the first time Sakura had to do something like that.

Closing the toilet seat, Sakura sat on top of it and looked down at her legs with blurred vision. Sai's question had affected her more than what she thought it would have, which only meant one thing. Sakura groaned at just the thought of what would be coming before dabbing under her eyes again, catching her tears.

No matter how hard she tried, nobody would speak to her (kindly) and the only other students who spoke to her without hatred were Sai and Gaara, though the latter was quite cold. Sakura would have counted Hinata, but the girl hardly ever spoke and when she did, she would be stuttering so badly that Sakura was certain Hinata didn't feel comfortable around her.

After Gaara had left on Friday, she had been in such a good mood despite her parents embarrassing her with their stupid questions. It was because he had admitted that they were friends. Even if he hadn't, Sakura would have still called him her friend, just to see the look of annoyance that he would give her. God it was funny winding that guy up! Sometimes he could be even moodier than her!

So why had her mood taken such a sudden turn? Well, eight months ago, Sakura would have asked the very same question. Now however, she knew exactly why that was.

The sound of the door to the girl's bathroom opening made Sakura hold her breath and keep completely still. What made crying in the bathroom at school even worse was being caught by somebody who could quite possibly have something against you. By the sounds of the footsteps, Sakura guessed that there were at least two people. Neither of them had gone into the cubicles, so Sakura couldn't just sneak out. Even if she could she wouldn't. She had to check her makeup and redo her mascara first. Otherwise it would still be wet and could quite possibly stain under her eyes whenever she blinked. That would just be humiliating!

"_I'm going to kill that blonde whore!" _a familiar, shrill voice snapped angrily. If Sakura had to guess, she would say that it was Karin. "_Who the hell does she think she is? Sasuke is mine!"_

Sakura's entire body tensed. Sasuke was with Karin now? No… he couldn't be! Sasuke had always ignored Karin, not even wasting his time, effort and breath to call her names. Instead, he would simply look or walk away.

"_I'm surprised Sakura hasn't beaten her up yet."_ another voice spoke rather smugly. This person's voice was just as familiar as Karin's, since the two had bullied Sakura back during their first year at Konoha High and for quite some time before that. It was Ami. "_Well, again. I mean, did you see what she did to that bitch? Ino's face was a mess, no matter how much makeup she used to try to cover the bruises up with."_

There was a sound of annoyance before Karin spoke again. "_Don't even mention that name."_ she all but groaned before she was once again sounding snappy and annoyed. "_That slut is even worse than Yamanaka."_

"_She's only slept with two people._" Ami argued half–heartedly. "_Ino is way worse than her. Apparently she's been with at least ten different guys__ in the past couple of months__."_

Karin snorted. _"_Please_. I know for a fact that Haruno Sakura has been with more than two people."_

The fact that Karin's voice sounded so sure made Sakura's blood run cold. _What did Karin know_? Did she know what had happened? Sakura bit down on her lip as more tears formed. Only this time, she didn't bother to dab them away.

Ami didn't sound too convinced, "_Really? How many has she slept with, then?"_

"_I don't know the exact number, but I know it's more than ten. Actually, it may even be more than thirty."_

She bit down even harder on her lip to stop herself from crying out loud.

"_Now I know that you're lying._" Ami laughed loudly. "_Sakura is too obsessed with Sasuke__–__kun to let anybody else touch her."_

"_Are you questioning me?" _Karin snapped angrily. "_I know what I've been told and my sources are reliable, okay? They don't lie and neither do I!"_

Once again, the main door to the bathroom opened and the two girls fell silent as another set of footsteps entered. There was a quiet apology before the cubicle next to hers opened and shut.

"_Either way, Haruno Sakura is a slut and if she goes anywhere near my Sasuke, she'll regret it. Come on, let's go._" Karin muttered. "_If I'm late to next period then Iruka will no doubt throw a bitch fit again."_

The sound of the two leaving made Sakura let out a shaky breath before opening the cubicle door and walking over to the sinks. As she looked in the mirror, her eyes filled with even more tears. She had known that some of the things being said about her were bad, but hearing them made it even worse. Sakura preferred not hearing the rumours that were spread about her. No doubt the one Karin just said would be around school by next period. Ami always did have a big mouth.

A gasp brought Sakura's attention away from her reflection and via the mirror she looked behind her, only for her eyes to widen. Quickly using the tissue still in her hand to wipe under her eyes, Sakura gave the girl as much of a smile as possible. "Oh hey, Hinata I didn't see you there! Sorry to ask, but do you have any painkillers? My hand is killing me."

If Hinata noticed her lie, she didn't comment on it. Instead, the Hyuuga stepped forward and washed her hands before drying them and searching through her bag. "I'm s–sorry, but I don't have any." she told her, her features pretty much screaming her apology. "I have cleansing wipes if you wish to use one."

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, my makeup looks pretty bad now, doesn't it?"

"Oh! I d–didn't mean that." Hinata quickly told her, her eyes wide with shock. "I–"

"Hinata," Sakura chuckled once again, "it's fine. I know it looks bad."

The girl only smiled nervously and once again went through her bag before pulling out a packet and handing Sakura a makeup wipe. Her features became hesitant as her mouth opened and closed a few times before finally, she spoke up. "You shouldn't listen to Karin, Sakura–san." Hinata said softly, making Sakura pause and look at her. "I don't think you're a slut."

It was so strange hearing Hinata say 'slut'. Sakura turned to the mirror and quickly started removing her makeup. "Thanks, Hinata. And don't worry about it, I never listen to Karin. Second to Ino, that girl has to be one of the biggest gossips here! She's just jealous that I was once in a relationship with Sasuke and he won't even look at her unless it's to tell her to leave him alone."

"You were once in a relationship with Sasuke–kun?" Hinata sounded shocked but her eyes saddened when she saw pain flit across Sakura's features. "I–I'm sorry. I just didn't know–"

"You should stop apologising so much." Sakura smiled. "Don't be afraid to be yourself and speak your mind. Everybody is entitled to their opinions." she paused for a moment as she looked down at the makeup wipe before continuing with removing her makeup. "As for me and Sasuke, it's… it _was_ complicated. Our relationship wasn't exclusive, yet we both expected each other to be faithful. We didn't tell anybody about us either."

Hinata stayed silent as she watched Sakura. "You have very clear skin, Sakura–san." the girl smiled politely, but then blushed when Sakura looked at her.

"Thank you." she said softly before smiling brightly. "You do too!"

If it was possible, Hinata's blush grew and by the time Sakura had finally removed all of her makeup, the bell went, telling them that it was time for their next lesson. Throwing the now soiled wipe into the bin, Sakura grabbed her bag and looked at Hinata. "Are you coming to English?"

"Y–Yes." Hinata nodded before following Sakura.

* * *

><p>"You look different today." Kakashi commented as he sat down next to Sakura.<p>

"No makeup."

Kakashi raised a brow. "What did you run out or something?"

Sakura shook her head and looked over at Hinata. "Nope, I took it off."

Something must have caught his attention as Kakashi's eyes widened. "What did you do to your hand?"

"Oh you mean this?" Sakura raised her cast and then shrugged when he nodded. "I broke it last Friday when I punched Gaara."

If it was possible, Kakashi's eyes widened even further and for a few moments, he couldn't speak. In front of them, Sasuke had completely tensed and beside Sakura, Hinata gasped. Their reactions made Sakura chuckle loudly until Kurenai sent her a dark look, immediately shutting her up. Usually the woman only gave those looks to Kakashi but apparently, she wasn't in a very good mood today.

"What do you mean you punched Gaara?" Kakashi demanded.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his response, knowing by now that it was his way of asking her to explain. "I mean, we got into an argument, I overreacted and punched him and the guy didn't even blink either! Gaara didn't even seem to feel it. Ugh, that annoyed me so much!" Sakura rolled her eyes and groaned before speaking again. "Then when we were in the middle of our detention, I found that I couldn't move my hand, so I made Gaara look at it and he told me it was broken. He took me to the hospital and then my mom made him stay for dinner."

"Gaara was over at your house?" Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Well… I… well, that's incredible."

"How is it?" Sakura frowned. "I made him take me to the hospital and because of that, I offered to pay him for the gas. Apparently prices have risen yet again!"

"Sakura, Gaara doesn't have any friends, so I doubt he's ever been to somebody's house before. What happened?"

She narrowed her eyes at Kakashi. "_I'm_ his friend." Sakura told him angrily before sighing and continuing with her story. "Well we just hung out and watched a movie, then when dinner was ready, we sat down, had to go through some stupid interrogation from my parents before he went home. Is my report okay for you, _sensei_?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes at her teasing; he had gotten pretty used to it by now. "So why weren't you in your previous lesson?"

Biting her lip, Sakura looked down at her hand. She honestly had no idea what to say to him. Usually, she could come up with a pretty good excuse, but today, her thoughts were all scrambled so she couldn't even think of one. "I…"

"S–She was with me, Kakashi–sensei." Hinata told him, making Sakura turn to the girl to look at her with wide eyes. She smiled at Sakura before looking at a slightly stunned Kakashi. "S–Sakura–san's hand was hurting her and she asked me if I had any painkillers. I t–thought I may have had some in my locker, but I didn't."

The silver haired man raised an eyebrow and looked down at Sakura. "That doesn't explain where you were for the whole fifty minutes of that lesson."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be smart?" she grumbled, making his eyes narrow before she continued. "I'm not wearing any makeup, am I? Can't you guess already without me having to say it? When Hinata told me she had no painkillers, I went to my locker, but by then my hand was really starting to hurt. In the end I went to the girl's bathroom where Hinata found me near the end of first period and gave me a makeup wipe and a painkiller that she got from a friend."

Perhaps she had been wrong about Hinata. Maybe the Hyuuga heiress stuttered around everyone when she was nervous, not just her.

"Are you just upset that you had to sit through that entire lesson?" Sakura suddenly smirked.

"I had to explain to a student named Sai–"

She shook her head, a look of guilt and understanding on her features. "You don't need to say any more. I'm sorry for leaving you with Sai."

* * *

><p>At the end of the English lesson, the class all stood up and made their way out of the door, but as Sakura turned around, she saw that Kakashi wasn't following her and was instead walking up to Kurenai.<p>

"Kakashi, what are you doing?"

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I just need to speak with Kurenai for a moment; I'll catch up to you."

Sakura frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what Kakashi could want to talk to Kurenai about and by the look on the woman's face, she was apparently curious as well. With a sigh, Sakura shrugged and left the room.

When she was gone, Kakashi turned to face Kurenai, who was now watching him. "Kurenai, I need to ask a favour of you." her eyes narrowed a fraction, so Kakashi continued quickly and as he did, realisation showed on the woman's face. "It is about the English assignment you're going to be giving the class."

"I was wondering when you were going to come to me." Kurenai sighed, sitting down at her desk and shuffling a few sheets of paper around. "I already know what you want me to do, Kakashi, but I can't allow it. I can't simply change–"

"You know me well and you know that I wouldn't ask you for this if there was some other way." he told her seriously. "I'm hoping by doing this, it could help."

Biting her lip ever so slightly, Kurenai looked down at her graded papers before rubbing her aching temple and nodding once. "Fine, I'll do it. But if this all goes horribly wrong or she finds out, I'm telling her that is was you."

Kakashi smiled, though the only reason Kurenai could tell was because of the way his eyes creased. "Don't worry. I have a feeling everything will go right."

"It better had."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I honestly can't remember whether or not I had anything to tell you guys. My mind has gone blank o.O  
><strong>

**I'll tell you all one thing, though. I'm OBSESSED with Thirty Seconds to Mars. And Itachi. And Gaara. And Kakashi. Maybe in that order, but I'm not too sure yet.**

**Some of you are probably wondering when Sakura will actually start speaking with Sasuke again, and I can honestly tell you that it will be next chapter!**

**Just a warning, though a few of you can probably already tell, but this fic is going to be _long_.**

**I love your reviews, especially the long ones, so thank you!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	7. Who Cares?

**Chapter 7 – Who Cares?**

Ever woken up one morning and had a feeling that something was going to change? It doesn't matter how big the thing was or would be changing, it's the feeling that matters. Well, she had that feeling.

It had been one month since Sakura had broken her wrist and since then, she and Gaara hadn't spoken. In fact, the only people who spoke to her at school were teachers and Kakashi. Oh and of course, the lunch ladies, but even they didn't seem to like her that much. It wasn't even like Sakura could ask 'what did I do wrong?' because she knew _exactly_ what she had done.

The cast was off now and had been for about a week or so.

Had she done something to upset Gaara? The question kept repeating itself in her mind. Well, that question and: Why had he stopped talking to her? It just didn't make any sense! Gaara had told her that they were friends and right now, he was the only friend she had. Whenever she tried to speak to him before or after class, he would only grunt in acknowledgement before literally disappearing. Sakura honestly had no idea where he went or how the hell he did it. All she did know was that it was annoying her. Why wouldn't he talk to her?

"Sakura, get up!" Mebuki's voice yelled from outside of her door. "You're going to be late for school if you don't get up_ now_."

Sakura groaned before finally getting out of bed, despite the fact her instincts were telling her not to.

* * *

><p>Apparently they would be given an assignment today in their English lesson, one that required you to be paired up. At the sound of that, Sakura inwardly groaned and had to refrain from slamming her head against her desk, knowing that not only would it most likely startle the life out of Hinata, but it would also earn her unwanted attention. As though that wasn't bad enough, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. It was first period, but he was nearly always on time. Okay, that was a lie, but he was never more than fifteen minutes late. Right now, half an hour had passed and Kakashi still hadn't arrived. Where could he be?<p>

"Group seven, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura."

The two who were called out both tensed as everyone turned to stare at them. Whilst Sakura was looking at Kurenai with pleading eyes, Sasuke had his closed and his brow twitching every couple of seconds, showing them all his annoyance. Kurenai didn't seem to notice their silent distress as she continued to call out the other groups and their names.

"Group eight, Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba."

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura moved though, even when every other groups started to pair up. It wasn't until Kurenai snapped at Sasuke to move to the desk behind him that they finally did so. As Sasuke stood up and picked up his things, Sakura moved her chair as far as it would go and kept her eyes stuck to the window next to her. As she watched the clouds in the blue sky, she heard Sasuke pull back the chair before sitting down. She could also sense the others staring at them both, but Sakura refused to acknowledge any of them. Even when she felt Sasuke's eyes on her face, Sakura refused to look away from the window. She didn't want to see the look of hatred in his eyes, especially if it would be directed at her.

Suddenly, the blinds shut and when Sakura's eyes darted from the window to the person who had closed the blinds, she was surprised to see Kurenai standing in front of her. Kurenai's eyes were showing her annoyance no matter how hard she tried to hide it and stay calm.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Sakura." Kurenai told her in a somewhat soothing tone. "But that was the only way to gain your attention. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to continue with my lesson and tell you all about the assignment. You have been partnered with Sasuke because in the past, you both worked well together."

With that, Kurenai walked away from the table with Sakura's eyes practically piercing the older woman with her glare. Then, with a sigh, Sakura reluctantly turned to Sasuke. "You will have to come over to my place for the assignment." she told him, quickly averting her eyes when he looked at her. "My mother isn't all that comfortable with me…" Sakura frowned slightly as she tried to find the words before speaking again. "She isn't comfortable with me leaving the house without her."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction, but said nothing about it as he instead asked, "How should I contact you to arrange a time?"

Her heart started to beat faster as he spoke, as his voice made memories flash before her eyes, but Sakura forced herself to stop being so childish. She was no longer a little girl with a crush or the girl who had been with him. "Ring the home line. You still have the number, don't you?"

"Why can't I ring your mobile?" Sasuke once again narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly like the thought of having to speak to Sakura's parents, especially her mother.

"I left my phone back at your house months ago and now I don't have one." she shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal. "And before you ask, I don't have any of my old social networking profiles, either. So you can either ring the home line or take a chance with simply turning up. Although, I don't recommend you do that."

Sasuke couldn't stop his fists from clenching. Was she _threatening_ him? "And why is that?"

Sakura looked at him and raised a brow at the scowl on his face and the anger in his low voice. Again, she shrugged before answering, "Because my mother won't let you in the house. She doesn't let anyone in nowadays."

His anger dissipated as he seemed to remember something before he nodded once. "I know."

At his response, her eyes widened. "What do you mean you know?" Sakura's eyes then narrowed dangerously as she glared at him. "Not one of you came to my house during these past ten months!"

Sasuke turned back to his book and took down the notes on their assignment as he said, "I came by to see you several times when you first disappeared, but your mother always said you didn't want to see me."

Tears threatened to fill Sakura's eyes but she forced them back. "You're lying. She wouldn't do that."

Her mother knew all too well how much Sakura loved Sasuke. She knew that Sakura would have literally done anything and everything to see him, so why would she deny her daughter that? Why would Mebuki tell Sasuke that Sakura didn't want to see him, even though it could have cheered her up considerably? But then again, why would Sasuke lie? He never had in the past. Well, not to _her_ he hadn't.

"Believe what you want." Sasuke snapped as his brows furrowed a fraction.

Before he could even react, Sakura grabbed her things and stormed out of the English room, ignoring Kurenai as the woman called after her. By the time she turned off of the English corridor, Sakura was running. She ran until she came bursting out of a door and found herself on the school roof, only to stop in surprise. Sakura wasn't sure what surprised her more, the fact that she had come here of all places, or the fact that somebody else was also on the roof.

"What do you want?"

He came here for peace and quiet. Those idiots in his class were so annoying and they made him feel like beating the shit out of all of them. If they weren't talking to one another about pointless topics, then they were interrupting the lesson and if they weren't doing that, then they were bragging about how rich they all were and were up each other's asses.

"I didn't know you'd be up here, Gaara." Sakura mumbled before sitting down beside him against the wall. "I just… needed to get away for a while." she put her head into her hands and tried her best to hold back her tears. After a couple of minutes, Sakura spoke again. "Have you… have you ever found something out and it makes… makes you unsure about how to feel? Y–You know, something that makes you… makes you so… _angry_ a–and hurt?"

Gaara tilted his head to the side and looked down at her shaking form. Honestly, the girl looked a mess. Here she was, sitting on the school roof and holding her head in her hands whilst shaking and crying. He didn't know what to do. They had decided to be friends over a month ago, but they never really spoke that much. What was he supposed to say? Did she want the truth? "Yes."

Sakura looked up at him, her mascara and eye liner mixing with her tears and making her look like a panda, but at the same time, it made her eyes look even brighter. "H–How do you deal with it?" she whispered and bit down on her lip to stop it from shaking.

Why was she asking these things? Why was she asking _him_? Gaara had no idea how to answer her question. Damn it. He had come up here for peace and to get away from everyone. "You don't." Gaara finally answered, seeing that she wouldn't just let it go.

"You're terrible at giving advice." Sakura chuckled before groaning and wiping under her eyes with a makeup wipe that she had pulled out of her bag. Since that time in the bathroom, Sakura had started carrying them around with her. "I just made such a fool of myself. Not only right now with you, but back in English…" her face scrunched up as Sakura once again groaned. "Damn it."

Gaara didn't say a word as Sakura continued to curse herself and instead simply sat there and watched her with a mixture of confusion, amusement and annoyance.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for walking with me." Sakura smiled as she looked up at the boy walking next to her.<p>

He didn't really have much of a choice to walk with her and they both knew it. If he had declined, she would have dragged him there or yelled at him. Really Gaara had chosen the easiest choice of the two and simply walked with her. Unfortunately, Sakura hadn't warned him that they would be taking a detour so she could go to her locker first. And it was only when they were almost there that Gaara realised.

Whilst they walked, he hadn't failed to notice how_ a lot_ of people were staring at them. It was a strange feeling, if Gaara was completely honest. Before, people had ignored him and barely even moved out of his way when he walked the hallways. Now, everyone was giving them both a wide berth, watching them walk together with wide eyes and shocked expressions.

Was this what Sakura had to put up with all the time? At first Gaara had thought that perhaps she had been over–exaggerating about people staring at her and whispering, but now he could see clearly that she hadn't been. Why did Sakura get so much attention? Yes, she had once been the most popular girl in the school, hell, with the way they were all staring and talking about her, it seemed as though she still _was_, but seriously? Why should _anybody_ receive such a reaction, such treatment?

Gaara wasn't popular, but he was known for his anger and how violent he could be. It was why he was always getting into fights, because the idiots at school wanted to see how far Gaara could be pushed, how strong he really was. As the Yamanaka had said many times, he was a 'freak' and a 'nobody'. Hardly anybody took notice in him at school, but for that, he was grateful. Having everybody stare at him like they were right now was unnerving and he hated it.

"What the hell?"

At the sound of Sakura's tone, Gaara frowned and followed her gaze, only for his frown to deepen at what she was looking at. "Is that your locker?"

Sakura nodded and walked forward, immediately noticing how more and more people were suddenly crowding around her and Gaara.

"What's going on?" a deeper voice called and at the sound of the voice, Gaara looked over his shoulder towards Kakashi, who was looking around the crowds.

The moment Kakashi spotted Gaara and Sakura, he moved towards them. However, his eyes immediately narrowed as he spotted what Sakura was looking at with a mixture of different emotions. Kakashi looked around the crowds, trying to see if he could notice anybody acting suspiciously, but the moment he did, two boys entered the small circle, looking confused until they spotted Sakura and her locker and froze, both of their eyes widening in shock.

She didn't know what to feel as she stared at her locker, as she stepped forward and ran her fingers over the spray painted letters that weren't even completely dry yet. A barely audible hum came from her as she realised it wasn't only spray painted, but also engraved. Whoever had done this obviously wanted to make sure it would be difficult to get rid of. Each letter felt like it was burning her skin, but it also felt like it was stabbing at her gut and heart. Who could write such a vile thing?

"So…" Sakura mumbled, looking over her shoulder at the crowd now surrounding her before fully turning to face them all. Almost instantly, her eyes locked with a set of dark ones before moving onto the shockingly blue ones beside them. "You all think I'm a slut?"

There was nothing but silence. Nobody knew how to react to the freakishly calm Sakura.

"_Fuck you_!" she yelled angrily before spinning around and slamming her fist into the locker, creating a loud bang that had many jumping at the noise. Her recently healed hand was starting to throb, but Sakura ignored the pain and continued to punch her locker, creating dents with each punch. As she did, she felt all of her pent up aggression, anger and hurt pouring out of her. With each hit, it felt like she was releasing her darker feelings.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out her name with a warning in his tone, but made no move to grab her since he knew it would only anger her further, "stop it."

Sakura turned around and glared at him. "Why should I?" as she screamed at him, tears came to her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to push them away but then, a thought came to her like a bolt of lightning had hit her, making them pause. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

Kakashi frowned and finally moved forward, noticing that her fists had unclenched as she ran her hands through her hair. "What is it, Sakura?"

Her features grew angrier before Sakura took a deep, calming breath. "This wasn't here before my English lesson and it is still wet. So do you know what that means?" at his raised eyebrow, she continued. "Whoever did it is obviously one of _his,_" pointing at Sasuke, Sakura started yelling again, "fans!"

"Are you blaming me for this?" Sasuke asked angrily, still annoyed that she had run out during English and left him there, looking like an idiot.

"No, I'm not blaming you." she mumbled, not even able to look him in the eye. "But it wasn't until after we were paired up for that stupid assignment that somebody did this." pulling her bag back onto her shoulder, Sakura sighed. "I'm going to go see Kurenai–sensei. Maybe she'll be able to swap the groups around or something."

The Uchiha simply shook his head at Sakura, as though he couldn't even believe what he was hearing or seeing. "So because of one little insignificant word, you're going to give up, going to let them walk all over you?"

Once again, Sakura's features became angry as she finally looked him in the eye. "You're not the one who is being called a slut!"

"You've been called much worse before." Sasuke stated, looking a mixture of bored and annoyed. "Why are you letting this bother you?"

It was true, Sakura had been called much, _much _worse before. She had been called things that were a hell of a lot more offensive than the word 'slut' and hadn't even batted an eyelid and simply brushed it off. Now however, the word kept playing in her mind, yelling, _screaming_, at her. "I'm different now." Sakura mumbled. "I'm not the same person I used to be."

For a moment, Sasuke could only stare in silence before he scoffed and walked away, followed by Naruto, who only looked at Sakura with a hesitant expression before he decided on leaving.

Once they had disappeared, the audience turned back to Sakura, who was now wiping under her eyes before she turned around to face her locker again. There wasn't much damage, but it seemed as though her punches had made a few dents. Not particularly caring anymore, Sakura opened the door and took out what she would need and any valuables she had in there. Apparently people at Konoha High weren't to be trusted. It was sad really.

Sakura paused for a moment as her hand brushed against something before a small smile graced her lips and she picked it up out of her locker, closed the door and pulled the lid off. People started to whisper as she wrote on the locker door, the black of her marker standing out far more than the red of the letters and the blue of the locker, especially when she went over her words and made them bolder. With a grin, Sakura put the top back on her marker, put it in her bag and turned to Gaara, who looked amused by what she had written, although Kakashi frowned when he read it before shaking his head, making a mental note to contact the janitor later.

As the three walked towards Sakura and Gaara's next lesson, the crowd walked forward, examining what Sakura had written.

_Who the fuck cares?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN - If you're lucky, I might update twice today, though it won't be straight away. I've got really bad stomach cramps and I mean _bad_. I can't even get out of bed! The only good thing is that my mum has decided to be nice to me and get me some snacks. Oh and the fact that the latest Naruto chapter should be posted soon!  
><strong>

**This chapter was posted twice becaus_e, _for some reason, I had the latest chapter of my DBZ fic at the bottom of this chapter. Fail.**

**Anyways, quite a few people have asked me if this is SasuSaku or GaaSaku or somehow all three of them together. It's SasuSaku _and_ GaaSaku and in the end, Sakura has to make a choice. But that is all I'm giving away right now!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	8. Memories

**Cha****pter 8 – ****Memories**

Today was the day of her first meet up with Sasuke. They had decided yesterday during their English lesson that he would come over every Wednesday after he had finished at practise and also on Saturdays after lunch. Since today was a Saturday, Sasuke should be arriving in just two hours.

Sakura hadn't been able to sleep the night before, not even a single wink. It seemed like a childish and pathetic thing to do, but she just couldn't help but feel excited. For the first time in months, she and Sasuke were going to have to speak to each other and during their homework session, she was going to apologise and explain exactly what had happened. It was also because of this that she hadn't been able to sleep. Trying to find the words to explain everything was difficult, especially since what had happened was… it was something Sakura hated to think or speak about.

For the better half of the morning, Sakura had been tidying her bedroom, making sure it was presentable and nothing embarrassing was on show, like her _Icha Icha_ books. When her mother had been passing her bedroom, she had looked shocked seeing Sakura tidying up, but otherwise smiled at her daughter and continued walking. For the rest of the morning, she had been getting ready.

Not wanting Sasuke to think she was trying too hard, Sakura had decided on wearing a pair of denim shorts, a long–sleeved checked shirt and converse. The checked shirt was left unbuttoned, because underneath was a plain black vest top. Also, because of the shortness of her shorts, her legs looked even longer. That last part was something she had read about in a fashion magazine and had decided to try it out.

Like her outfit, her hair was pretty casual. It was parted down the middle and fell in loose waves down her back. Every now and then, Sakura would run her hand through it, giving it extra volume. Her makeup wasn't anything special, just a single layer of foundation, a couple of coats of mascara and a small amount of barely tinted lip gloss.

Since it was a nice day out, Sakura had opened the doors to her balcony, letting the soft breeze enter her room.

Sakura hadn't confronted Mebuki about the whole not letting her friends over thing for one reason: she wanted to see what her mother would do when Sasuke turned up. Would Mebuki tell him to leave? Would she tell Sasuke that Sakura wasn't in? If so, would she then go on to tell Sakura that nobody had called, or would she simply not say anything at all?

There would only be one way to find out, so with a deep breath, Sakura left her room to go downstairs and wait for Sasuke's arrival.

* * *

><p>The sound of the doorbell ringing caused Sakura's heart to skip a beat. She had only been waiting for half an hour, which meant that Sasuke was pretty early. Not that she was complaining.<p>

"I'll get it, Sakura!"

At the sound of her mother's voice quickly approaching, Sakura's eyes widened before she shot out of her seat and darted towards the front door, almost colliding with the door frame to the living room door as she did so. Now was not the time to be thinking about Sasuke's punctuality. She had to make it to the front door before her mother did!

When Sakura found that she had won the race between her and Mebuki – a race that Mebuki had no idea she was participating in – she inwardly cheered before relaxing her features.

Sakura opened the door and gave Sasuke a small smile as she stepped to the side to allow him entry and when he entered the house, she hadn't missed how his eyes looked around, as though he had never been to her house before. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of his actions, so instead just smiled. Just as she was closing the door, however, Mebuki came darting into the hallway, surprising both Sakura and Sasuke with her startled appearance.

"Sakura," Mebuki's eyes widened before a smile was forced onto her face, "I told you that I would get that!"

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura gave her mother a dry look. This was what she had been hoping wasn't true, but at the same time, knew that it was. "Why? So you can tell my friends that I don't want to see them again?"

Mebuki's eyes widened even more as she looked up at Sasuke. The Uchiha was standing silently, not showing that he was surprised at how controlling Mebuki had become. Since when had Sakura not even been allowed to answer the front door? Since when could she not have friends over? Since when could _he_ not visit? Mebuki had always welcomed him over, hell she had always _invited_ him, Naruto and even Itachi over ever since they were little kids!

"You were busy at the time, Sakura." she said slowly, her eyes coming away from Sasuke and over to Sakura. Silently warning Sakura with her eyes, Mebuki spoke again. "I don't – where do you think you're going?"

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him towards the stairs. She was a little surprised at how he seemed to allow her to drag him behind her, but said nothing to him as she instead snapped at her mother, "We're going to work on our English assignment."

"Not in your bedroom you're not!"

Turning to look over her shoulder at Mebuki, Sakura once again narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sitting in the living room and having you hover around me. You know better than anyone that I hate being watched." If Sasuke was surprised by her harsh tone, he didn't say anything. Mebuki however, looked unsure and hesitant as she watched Sakura, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't anger her daughter further. "If it will make you feel more comfortable, I'll leave my bedroom door open. It's not like Sasuke and I are going to be doing anything other than school work."

There was the sound of a deep breath being taken before Mebuki slowly nodded before looking up at Sasuke. "Excuse my behaviour, Sasuke. Would you like anything to drink or to eat?" When Sasuke simply shook his head, Mebuki turned to Sakura and repeated her question.

"Some of that strawberry flavoured water you bought the other day, please." Sakura smiled before continuing her walk upstairs with Sasuke right behind her.

* * *

><p>It was too quiet.<p>

They were working in absolute silence, the only time they spoke was when they were discussing work and even then, it was hardly more than a couple of words. How was Sakura supposed to explain things to Sasuke if he was hardly even talking to her? If she just said it, there was a chance things would get extremely uncomfortable and that was definitely something that Sakura didn't want. To tell him right now, out of the blue, would be like… information overload. Knowing Sasuke, he wouldn't know how to handle news as big as hers if she just said it and would shut her out.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Sakura glanced over at Sasuke.

Because of the nice weather, they were sitting outside on her balcony, doing their work on the table. Despite Sakura not wanting her mother to hover, both she and Sasuke had noticed how she kept walking passed the bedroom, looking in as inconspicuously as possible. As though that wasn't bad enough, when Mebuki had realised that they were on the balcony, she went into the garden to tend to her flowers. This told them she was spying on them for two reasons. The first being that Mebuki paid for somebody to do the gardening as she hated getting dirty and the second was that she had been watering the same bush for about fifteen minutes now.

Closing her eyes and trying to ignore the stress she could feel building within her, Sakura placed her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. Like she had been instructed to do, she took deep breaths, trying her best to _not_ start screaming at her mother, since that would definitely not help anything.

"I just want some privacy." Sakura mumbled into her hands when she realised her deep breathing wasn't helping.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura as she talked to herself, knowing immediately by the way her eyebrows were knitting together and the barely even noticeable tremble in her hands that she was growing angry. They had known each other for pretty much their entire lives, so he knew all of her tells and quirks, no matter how much time they had spent apart recently. Not only was there that, but there was also the slight bounce of her knee and the way her hands were now clenching into fists were also signs.

He didn't know what to say or what to do, so Sasuke remained quiet although he, as discreetly as possible, moved the glass of lemonade Mebuki had insisted on him having out of her way. It was just a precaution in case she did snap as he didn't want her to ruin the work they had done so far because if she did, then they would have to redo it all, which meant spending more time together.

It was already hard sitting across from her like he was. Sasuke had been trying his best to ignore her since her return, trying to act as though she didn't even exist, but it was pretty much impossible. Every time he was walking the school hallway, he would either pass her or somebody would be talking about her. In English, unless they weren't discussing the assignment, he sat in front of her and if they _were_ working on the assignment, then he would have to sit beside her. At lunch, since she and Kakashi were always there now, he always saw her eating her lunch with the man in the cafeteria.

Right now, Sasuke was having trouble banishing old memories from his mind of their times together. Not only as just friends, but those times when they had been more, when they had been intimate. The black vest top under her checked shirt wasn't too low cut, but it still gave him a nice enough view. Her shorts were… damn, just… _damn_. All Sasuke could think of when he first saw her legs was the way they used to wrap around his waist, how he used to stroke them, kiss them, hell, Sasuke had even _licked_ certain parts of them!

His body ached with the need to reach out and touch her, to kiss her, to pin her beneath him and make her _scream_ his name the way she used to. At one point, he actually had almost gone to pull her against him and push her against the wall when they had been walking through her bedroom towards the balcony.

Running a hand over his face, Sasuke had to refrain for outwardly groaning, since he knew it would gain her attention, therefore making her speak with him. He used to love the way she said his name, but now, it only brought him memories he wished would just _go away_.

These sessions were going to be the death of him.

* * *

><p>It was ten minutes later and her mother was still hovering around her and Sasuke. It was driving her mad, especially since her mother knew very well that Sakura hated being watched, hated feeling as though she had no privacy.<p>

Finally having enough, Sakura stood up as calmly as possible before walking to the edge of her balcony, bending over to look down at the ground as she rested her elbows on the brick wall – not even aware of the fact that yet again her actions had brought more memories to Sasuke's mind, making his mouth go dry. It brought back the memory of the time when he had bent her over the table in her kitchen and took her, hard and fast.

"Hey, mom," Sakura called out to her mother, who was still watering the same plant, "I know you've been rather stressed lately, but that's still no reason to take your frustration out on a helpless plant." At Mebuki's questioning look, Sakura rolled her eyes before finally yelling. "You've been watering that bush for over twenty five minutes!_ Damn it_, what happened to having privacy in this place? _What happened to our agreement_?"

It had definitely been a while since Sasuke had heard her yelling like _that_, especially at her own mother, but that wasn't the thing that caught his attention. The thing that had caught his attention was Sakura pushing off of her elbows and placing her hands far apart on the brick wall as she also did the same with her legs. Surely _that_ move wasn't accidental, especially since she was still leaning forward and giving him a good view of her long legs and behind.

Sasuke wasn't an idiot. He knew he was still attracted to Sakura. How could he not be? They had been sleeping together for months, possibly even a year, before she disappeared. He knew every sensitive spot on her body, just like she knew his. Sasuke could even recall every time they had spent together and when he had heard Ino screaming at Sakura in the cafeteria on her first day back, he knew immediately when she had seen them together. There had only be seven occasions when Sasuke had allowed Sakura to be on top and only one of them had been at her house, in the room behind him.

How the hell had Ino even gotten in that night? He remembered everything about it! He remembered locking the front door before following Sakura upstairs… damn she must have used the spare key!

* * *

><p>"<em>Will you make sure the front door is locked?" Sakura called from the kitchen. "I hate it be<em>_i__n__g__ left unlocked when my parents aren't home."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't respond as he did as she asked, placing the key onto the small table a couple of feet away from the front door once he was done. It was rather ridiculous how paranoid Sakura could be, especially since on their entire road, there were only five houses, including his and Sakura's. Also, it wasn't like he was going to let anything happen to her. Well, unless it was _him_ who's doing the torturing…_

_A devilish smirk graced his lips as he watched Sakura step out of the kitchen, making her eyes widen at the predatory look in his eyes before she darted towards the stairs, giggling as she ran up them with him right behind her. It wasn't until he got to the top that he caught up to Sakura, pinning her against the wall before pressing his body to hers, loving how warm she felt. For some reason, Sakura had always been a little warmer than him, but he rather enjoyed it._

_It wasn't even a minute later that they were bursting into her bedroom, not even bothering to shut the door after it had slammed against the wall as they stumbled towards her bed, only pausing when they impatiently started tearing the clothes from each other's bodies. Their kiss was fiery and passionate as Sasuke gripped a tight hold of her hips, bringing her body closer to his own and revelling in her soft moan, making him smirk into the kiss as he realised it would be one of _those_ nights. Every so often, Sakura would be much more responsive and sensitive to his touches, meaning she wouldn't hold back whilst screaming his name when he brought her to orgasm._

"_I want to be on top." Sakura breathed whilst fisting her hand in his hair as he moved his kisses to her neck, making her feel weak at the knees._

_Nipping at the spot he knew to be sensitive, Sasuke smirked. "Sure you'll be able to handle it?"_

_Knowing that he was talking about how sensitive her body was, Sakura rolled her eyes, but the effect was ruined by the whimper that came from her a moment later when she felt his lips descend to her breasts. His hands were stroking their way up from her hips until he reached the clasp at the front of her bra and with the skill he had picked up from the__ir__ previous times together, Sasuke undid the bra and flung it across the room, not even looking to see where it landed as __he __pressed her now bare chest to his, him having lost his shirt not too long ago._

"_If you let… me be on top this time…" Sakura breathlessly spoke before her lips were captured once again. When she pulled away, she was panting for breath. "I'll let you fuck me from behind next time."_

_Again, Sasuke smirked as he looked down at her pink cheeks, swollen lips and darkened eyes that were clouded with lust. "What makes you think I'm only going to take you once tonight? Your parents are gone for the entire weekend and neither of us have any plans." his lips ghosted over hers but whenever she attempted to kiss him he pulled back a little, teasing her with how close they were. "Don't wear yourself out too much."_

"_You're so arrogant." she mumbled, but her words ended with a sharp cry when Sasuke cupped her through her underwear._

"_You're so annoying."_

_Neither of them took offence to the names anymore, having heard them one too many times._

_Feeling how wet she was already, Sasuke made quick work of removing her underwear as well as his own before pushing Sakura back against the bed, only to have her immediately turn them over so that she was on top and straddling his hips._

"_What, no foreplay?" he questioned with a raised brow, his hands coming to rest on her thighs.  
><em>

_Sakura shook her head before taking his erection in her hand and guiding him to her entrance. "I need you inside me… _now._"_

_At one point during their strange relationship, Sasuke had been certain that Sakura was a nymphomaniac, but then he discovered that he could also feel the desperate need to have her near him, to be inside of her. They didn't use condoms as Sakura was on the pill and he didn't really like the feeling of them, he thought that the sex felt so much better without them._

_She started slowly, moving at a torturous pace that soon had the both of them covered in a thin sheet of sweat. As her fingers curled against his chest, her hips rolled and grinded against his, the friction making her body tingle deliciously. However it wasn't long until Sasuke was shifting his position ever so slightly, gripping her hips tightly and lifting his hips to meet hers as he slammed her down against him. The __noises she made were like music to his ears and the sight of her looking down at him with such a hungry gaze only made him increase his speed._

_Soon enough she was collapsing on top of him and it didn't even take him a couple of seconds for Sasuke to wrap one arm around her hips whilst the other wrapped around her back, his elbow starting in the middle and finishing with his hand holding onto the corner of her shoulder, pinning her body to his._

_The sound of flesh smacking flesh, Sakura's sobs of pleasure and his grunts filled the room as Sasuke drove into her hard, feeling as though he couldn't get enough of her. After a couple of moments though, Sakura's moans began to rise in pitch and her hips moved more desperately against his own and not only that, but also the tightening of her walls around him was telling Sasuke that she was close._

_Flipping them over so that he was on top and in__ complete__ control, Sasuke lowered himself against her, knowing that the feeling of his skin on hers as well as either soft, tender words, or dirty words would push her over the edge. Considering to how tightly she was holding onto him, how she kept panting and moaning his name into his ear, Sasuke could tell it was the former. "You're so beautiful." he told her truthfully in a breathless whisper and immediately, Sakura started to react to his words as her hips bucked uncontrollably against his own. "No one will ever compare to you."_

_At his words, Sakura reached her first of many orgasms that night, neither of them hearing the front door slam shut._

* * *

><p>Damn it. Why couldn't he stop thinking about Sakura? If he wasn't thinking about fucking her, then he was thinking about all of the other times they had shared together, the times when he had only just been learning of his feelings for the pink haired girl, the times when he had seen her at her worst and still felt those stupid, annoying feelings for her.<p>

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as something suddenly occurred to him. Naruto hadn't found out about him and Sakura, he had been _told_. No, he had been sent a fucking video of the two of them together! Sasuke had seen the video after the blond had left after their fight, after Sakura had also left. Now that he thought about it, that night had been the last time he ever saw her before she disappeared…

Back to the video. When he had seen it, Sasuke had thought it was some kind of a sick joke. He had thought that perhaps he was seeing things because surely he would have realised if somebody had broken into Sakura's house? Saying that though, they had been so lost in each other's bodies that the apocalypse could have started and they wouldn't have even noticed.

It was Ino who had recorded the video and sent it to Naruto, knowing of the blond's feelings towards Sakura and the history between the two. She knew that Naruto would get angry if he saw it, if he learned about them from somebody else and realised they had been lying to him. Damn it! Why hadn't he learned any of this sooner? Sasuke had never particularly liked Ino – he thought she was too 'out there' with her advances towards him. At least Sakura's had been genuine whereas Ino was just looking for a fuck from the most popular guy at Konoha High. Ino probably would have added him to her 'done' collection Sakura had once accidentally told him about when she had been drunk.

There wasn't anything to be done about it now, though. Just as long as she didn't show that video to anyone else and had deleted it, then they wouldn't have too much of a problem. She could go on with her sad need to socially destroy Sakura whilst he could go on with trying not to _fuck_ Sakura and in the process forget why he was treating her so coldly.

Shaking his head with a huff of annoyance, Sasuke rose to his feet and gathered his things, feeling as though he had done enough work for the day. Truthfully, he just wanted to get away from Sakura before he lost his mind, before she drove him insane.

"Wait!" Sakura quickly yelled as she darted back over to him. "W–Where are you going? We still have so much to work on!"

The look in her eyes was almost pitiful and had it been anyone else, Sasuke would have called them pathetic before leaving. However, no matter how angry her leaving had made him, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say anything horrible to her or hurt her, because after everything she had done, even after everything she had put him through, she was still Sakura.

She was still the first girl he had ever loved and the first girl to break his heart.

Not that she ever needed to know either of those things.

"Sasuke, I need to tell–"

"I need to go." he quickly interrupted her, not seeming to even care that Sakura had been talking or about to talk.

Her features saddened before Sakura spoke. "…Right. Well… I guess I'll see you around, maybe?"

Sasuke didn't even reply as he left, leaving Sakura to watch after him on her balcony as he left the house, got into his car and drove away without looking back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So now you all see what Sasuke's problem is, right? He's in love with her, but her leaving had broken his heart and hurt him, so he's acting cold and distant so that it doesn't happen again!  
><strong>

**This came out later than what I thought it would, but honestly, I've been asleep pretty much all day, only getting up to get a drink or to go to the toilet.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	9. You Make Me Feel Worthless!

**Chapter 9 – ****You Make Me Feel Worthless!**

Have you ever wondered about who would come to visit you in the hospital if you were ever in an accident or got really sick? Or which of your friends would really care enough to be there and stay with you, no matter how bad it got? Sakura had always wondered that and in a way, she still did. Like, if she died right here, right now, whose life would she have impacted and who would truly be sad or heartbroken that she was gone forever? When she had been younger, Sakura had always dreamed of Sasuke being utterly broken by just the mere thought of her dying or getting injured. However as she got older, she realised just how morbid her thoughts were and the sad truth that Sasuke probably wouldn't even care.

Well, she had definitely been wrong about one thing.

Now that she was physically much closer to him and looking him in the eye for the first time in what felt like forever, Sakura could see just how broken Sasuke looked. He had always been able to hide his emotions, but now it seemed more like he _had_ to hide his emotions, like he didn't trust anybody to see them. Had she done that to him? Had she really hurt him that badly?

It had been one month since they started their English project together. For one whole month, their conversations had been strained, awkward and just… not what she had expected. Sakura had been hoping that the moment they were alone, Sasuke would jump her and tell her how much he cared for her and loved her and that he would listen to and accept her apology.

Instead, every single time, they sat on the floor of her bedroom and worked, now that it was getting too cold to sit out on the balcony. They only spoke when it was something to do with the project and if it was about anything else Sasuke would simply ignore her or grunt. It reminded her of back when they were kids, back when she had had an annoying fan–girl crush on him and he hated her for it. Well, Sasuke never _hated_ her, but he did get annoyed with her. That's what it felt like whenever they were together now, like she was annoying him. Not only that, but because of all the work she had missed, Sakura found it hard to keep up with Sasuke and if he noticed her struggling, he didn't say anything about it or offer any help. It made her feel so stupid and pathetic. It made her feel useless.

So, here she sat, in a small café not too far from her home. It was time for one of their meet ups, but Sakura had decided that she wouldn't turn up. Yes, it seemed a little over the top, especially since they met at _her_ house, but she honestly didn't think she could stand another session like that. They were making her feel too low about herself and she really did _not_ need that sort of thing right now.

Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her bangs framed her face, stopping the neighbouring tables from seeing her eyes. Sakura was starting to get used to wearing no makeup, although she definitely felt much more comfortable wearing it. She hadn't put any on today because she had to get out of the house fast in case Sasuke turned up early like he sometimes did. It was also because of that that she was wearing plain jeans and a long sleeved, hooded top with converse. Her entire outfit for that day was casual and comfortable, but it definitely wasn't stylish and it certainly didn't make her feel very beautiful.

It was Halloween in a couple of days and she couldn't help but smile as she watched a little girl twirl around the café in her princess dress before curtsying to them all. Not many people paid any attention to her, which seemed to make her sad as she lowered her brown eyes to the ground, her soft brown hair falling into them. At the sight of the hurt girl, Sakura's heart clenched and before she even knew it, she was clapping.

At the sound of her applause, the girl's head shot up before she looked at Sakura and blushed, giving her a grin. It surprised Sakura when she ran over to her, but she didn't show it and instead pulled out the chair beside her for the girl to sit on.

"Hi!"

Sakura smiled. "Hi, your dress is very pretty. Are you Belle from Beauty and the Beast by any chance?"

At her words, the girl's smile became even brighter as she sat up excitedly, practically standing on her chair. "You've seen Beauty and the Beast?"

"Of course! I loved that film when I was a child. And in my opinion," Sakura lowered her voice and hearing the quieter tone, the girl leaned it, "it's better than what adults are watching. Yuck!"

The girl laughed loudly. "I'm Azuki!" she suddenly told Sakura, her eyes warm with her bright smile. "What's your name?"

"Sakura?"

At the sound of her name being called uncertainly, Sakura looked up, only for her eyes to widen at the sight before her. Standing beside her table was none other than her English teacher, Kurenai! And beside her stood a tall, bulky man with tanned skin and brown eyes and hair. Sakura was certain that he was also a teacher at Konoha High, but she wasn't too sure. Seeing the resemblance to the girl sat beside her, Sakura guessed he was Azuki's father. "Kurenai–sensei, I didn't see you in here!"

"I didn't see you either since your hood is up." Kurenai replied with a raised, disapproving eyebrow since it wasn't really allowed in this certain café.

"I'm trying to avoid somebody." Sakura laughed before lowering her hood and when she did, Azuki's brown eyes widened.

"Wow, you have pink hair!"

Sakura once again chuckled. "I do."

Kurenai was silent for a couple of moments as she exchanged glances with the man beside her before looking back at Sakura, her eyes concerned. "You're not in any trouble, are you Sakura?"

Seeing why she thought this, Sakura quickly shook her head. "No! It's um…" for a moment, she looked slightly uncomfortable before sighing. "It's Sasuke." she told Kurenai, making the woman's eyes narrow, however instead of giving her time to ask her anything, Sakura continued. "It's just kind of… _hard_… speaking to him after all this time and he's giving me the cold shoulder. Being around him makes me kind of uncomfortable."

The older woman's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for putting you in that position, Sakura. If I had known, I would have never agreed to it."

"Agreed to it?"

Her eyes widened, but knowing there was no way out, Kurenai answered, "Your assistant, Kakashi, asked me for a favour, saying that being forced to work together might help you settle things with Sasuke. If I had known it would make you this uncomfortable, I wouldn't have agreed to it."

Again, Sakura shook her head although this time, it was with disbelief. "That bas–"

"Language." Kurenai quickly interrupted her, her eyes going to Azuki who was still staring at Sakura's hair. Then, she sighed. "Azuki, I'm sure Sakura doesn't want you staring at her like that. It's unnerving."

This time, it was Sakura's turn for her eyes to widen. "This is your daughter? _You_ have a kid?"

The man beside Kurenai chuckled and his voice was deep as he spoke. "A husband, too."

"Sorry." Sakura mumbled, her cheeks warming. "I didn't mean to sound so shocked… it's just… you look so young and… and _hot_ to be a mother!"

Kurenai couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, Sakura, but Azuki is six years old, so I've had a lot of time to get my figure back. This is my husband, Asuma, by the way. He's one of the history teachers at school."

Ah, so he _did_ work at Konoha High.

"Hi." he dipped his head to her.

She smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Then, the woman turned to her daughter, her eyes stern. "Come on, Azuki, I'm sure Sakura would–"

"I don't mind!" Sakura interrupted, looking up at the couple with a small smile. "Sitting with Azuki is a lot better than spending the afternoon with Sasuke."

Once again, Kurenai looked guilty. "I really am sorry about that, Sakura. Kakashi and I thought we would be doing more good than bad."

Sakura waved her hand through the air dismissively. "If it were anyone other than Sasuke, it probably would have worked. Oh," Sakura suddenly paused, looking up at Kurenai hesitantly, "is there any chance you can help me out? I mean with English. I've missed so much work and with the pace _he_ works at, it makes me feel a little inadequate."

She nodded. "Of course, Sakura. Just come to my class after school on Fridays. I know it's the weekend, but it's the only time I'm free, I'm afraid."

"That's fine!" Sakura assured her before looking down at Azuki. "And I really don't mind having Princess Azuki, here, sitting with me." The girl looked up at Sakura with wide eyes, a large smile aimed right at her.

"Only if it isn't a problem." Kurenai replied before asking, "We were actually about to have some lunch, would you like something? It'll be our treat."

There was a moment of silence before Sakura nodded and told the woman her order. She knew how impressionable kids were and at Azuki's age especially. When she was six years old, Sakura had obsessed with looking like the princesses in the movies, wanting big hair, big dresses, heels and a slim figure. She had even gone as far as to stealing one of her mother's bras and stuffing it with socks so that it looked like she had breasts! Once Azuki had told Kurenai and Asuma what she wanted, the couple went to sit down on a table not too far from theirs before they ordered.

Sakura had always liked kids. She liked how innocent they were, how easy it was to make them happy. Once they grew up, they would realise that being a teenager or an adult wasn't everything they thought it would be. They would no longer innocent, they would no longer be easily made happy. Despite hardly even knowing her, it made Sakura's heart clench painfully at the thought of Azuki going through the struggles that came with adolescence, the need to fit in, to be pretty, be popular.

When their food arrived, they ate whilst talking, discussing who their favourite movie characters were. It was when they were halfway through their meal when the door opened, the person making Kurenai a couple of tables away tense when she noticed him approaching Sakura and Azuki.

"Sakura," a voice called out, not sounding all too happy.

At the sound of his voice, Sakura's eyes widened before she looked up to face him. "S–Sasuke!" she gasped before looking down, avoiding his hard eyes. "How did you find me?"

He wasn't happy at all and it was obvious with the look he was giving her. However, before he could say anything, Azuki quickly jumped to her feet, the help of the chair making her level with Sasuke's chest. "Don't look at Princess Sakura that way!"

His eyes widened at the glare he was receiving from a _kid_, before narrowing and turning back to Sakura. "You blew me off to come and play make–believe with a kid?"

It seemed what he said wasn't the right thing as Azuki's eyes flashed dangerously and she immediately stood up on the table, stomping across it until she was right in his face. "It isn't make–believe you big bully! Why are you being mean to Princess Sakura?"

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin and it was obvious as he looked around the girl in front of him, the one who looked close to actually _hitting him_ and over to Sakura as he demanded, "Who is this?"

Sakura stood up quickly, lifting Azuki off of the table and onto the ground when she saw they were gaining unwanted attention. However, she didn't need to answer the question as both Kurenai and Asuma appeared behind her, the man placing his hand on Azuki's shoulder to keep her in place as she tried to go over to Sasuke once again. Was it bad that a part of Sakura wanted to see Azuki hit him?

"She's my daughter, Sasuke." Kurenai answered coolly, giving him a warning look.

He shook his head with disbelief before turning back to Sakura. "Your mother is worried about you and wants you to go home. She would have come herself, but I told her I would find you and bring you back."

"Sakura?" Kurenai called out, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I think you should go with him, especially if your mother is worried about you. Thank you for spending time with Azuki today."

Sakura smiled and nodded before kneeling down so she was eye level with the pouting girl. "I like your attitude, Azuki." she complimented her, making the pout turn into a devilish smile that made the previously innocent girl look downright evil. "And don't let anybody tell you that being a princess is make–believe, okay? I'll see you around sometime."

With that, both Sasuke and Sakura left.

* * *

><p>"Why did you stand me up?" Sasuke demanded once they were in the car.<p>

For a moment, Sakura didn't reply. Instead, she chose to simply stare out of the window, like she was trying hard to pretend like she wasn't there with him and her reaction only made Sasuke angrier. How could she treat him so coldly after all this time? But… then again… he had been treating her the same way, hadn't he?

Shaking his head, Sasuke drove forward. He and Sakura were different. She was the one who just left without saying goodbye, not him. She was the one who didn't call or email or even write a letter, not him! At least _he_ would have called. In fact, Sasuke had called, he had tried to visit her at her house, he had tried to email her, even going as far as to practically stalk her social networking profiles, but what did he find? He found nothing. Whenever he visited, she was always busy. Whenever he called the house (her mobile had been left at his) Mebuki answered, telling him once again she was busy. His emails went ignored and nothing new ever came up on her profiles except for when people bitched about her.

"Can we put some music on?"

At her quiet voice, Sasuke glanced down at her. "No."

"Fine." she sighed tiredly, her eyes going back to the window.

Sasuke couldn't believe how… how _tired_ she looked. It looked as though she hadn't slept in days! With a sigh, Sasuke switched on the radio, turning it to the station he knew she loved. The look in her eyes made his chest hurt and it was like he couldn't even stop himself and when the radio switched on, the small smile on her lips made the pain dull ever so slightly. The music was kept low so that they could talk.

_Do you remember when we fell in love?  
>Three times a day we couldn't get enough.<br>We spent the weekends with nobody else,  
>I just had to have you for myself!<br>I used to love the way you called my name.  
>Thought that it would always be this way!<br>You held me like you'd never let me go!  
>I wanna know.<br>I wanna know!_

The song that was playing made Sasuke frown, but he tried his best to ignore it. He knew it, it was a song by James Bourne called 'Want Me Like That' and it had been one of Sakura's favourite songs at one point. For a whole week straight she had played it on repeat, singing along to it at the top of her lungs. However now, as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, he believed it may no longer be her favourite, especially when her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, like she was either trying to calm herself down or trying not to cry. Sasuke believed that it may be the former, especially when he saw the angry glint in her eye growing. What the hell was up with her?

_Do you still want me like that?  
>Do you still want me like that?<em>

"Why did you stand me up?" he repeated his earlier question, but this time with a much calmer voice and facial expression.

_It's like  
>If you can cast your mind to way back when<br>I'd count the days till I'd see you again  
>When we spent every second of our time<br>Lost in the moment where the stars align  
>So crazy 'bout each other, we were blind<br>So into you that I could read your mind  
>You swore to me you'd never let it die<em>

"You make me feel like an idiot!" Sakura suddenly screamed at Sasuke, but he seemed to not care about that and simply put his foot down. "You won't even look at me or talk to me and when you do, you make me feel like an annoyance, like I'm not important… or… even a person. After everything we've been through or done together, you make me feel like I'm _nothing_!"

_I wanna know, I wanna know!_

_Do you still want me like that?  
>Do you still want me like that?<br>'Cause it's like you had a change of heart,  
>At times like these I wonder!<br>Do you still want me like that?_

This time, Sasuke couldn't help but turn fully to glance at Sakura. The tone in her voice had been so sad and hurt, especially near the end of her exclamation. Now, Sakura was leaning back in her seat with her arms wrapped around herself, looking as though she was trying her hardest not to cry. Had his silence really hurt her? Had his actions made her like this?

_The simple things, the secret things,  
>Between me and you<br>In our own little world  
>And what we had<br>Where we were  
>It was all so unbreakable<em>

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened as something out on the road caught her attention. "Sasuke, look out!"

Sasuke looked back at the road and immediately slammed down hard on his breaks as soon as he spotted the person in the middle of the road, his car spinning and tyres screaming loudly in protest. When it felt like forever had passed, the car finally stopped moving, but neither Sakura nor Sasuke dared to move, waiting for the other to make a noise or move first.

_Do you still want me like that?  
>Do you still want me like that?<br>Do you remember when we fell in love?  
>Back in the day we couldn't get enough!<em>

_And just want me like that!  
>Do you remember when we fell in love?<br>And just want me like that!  
>Do you remember when we fell in love?<em>

'_Cause it's like you had a change of heart!  
>At times like these I wonder.<br>Do you still want me like that?_

_Do you still want me like that?_

Finally, Sasuke moved and switched the radio off before turning to look at Sakura. "Sakura are–"

"Are you okay?" Sakura interrupted him as she sat up straighter, becoming more alert.

Ignoring her for a moment, Sasuke looked in one of the side mirrors before looking up at the rear view mirror. It seemed Sakura finally remembered the man who had been in the middle of the road as she also started glancing in the mirrors, but the moment Sasuke moved to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out, she quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping his movement.

"Don't go out there." she all but begged, looking up at him with worried eyes.

"Sakura, I almost hit that guy. I have to see if he's okay."

"Look at him!" Sakura yelled, gesturing over the seats and towards the man who was simply standing there, staring at the car. He was too far to see any features and he had his hood up, but there was something about the man that scared Sakura and had shivers running up and down her spine. "He's creepy. Please, Sasuke, please? Can we just go? _Please_?"

His frown only deepened at the sight of Sakura getting worked up, getting more hysterical by the moment. Her breathing was beginning to quicken, her hold on his wrist was tightening and Sasuke wasn't too sure, but he could have sworn that Sakura was fighting back her tears. With a sigh, he looked over the seats once again, seeing that the man was starting to walk towards them and as he got closer, Sakura became more and more hysterical, practically begging him to start driving.

"He's fine! Can we go now?"

There was only a moment's pause before he nodded and put his foot down on the accelerator, both thankful when the car instantly responded and moved forward. What confused him was how both he and Sakura could just leave the man without a second thought, especially her. Sakura had always been one to push aside personal feelings and help someone if they truly needed it, if they deserved it. As for him, whilst he wasn't a particularly friendly person, Sasuke always helped out when somebody needed help.

Just as Sasuke went to switch the radio back on for a need to fill the tense silence, Sakura caught his wrist once again. "Just… leave it off."

Sakura's heart was in her throat as she finally released Sasuke's wrist, watching out of the corner of her eye as he pulled his hand back to the steering wheel. It was taking everything in her not to allow her body to start trembling, but it seemed Sasuke could sense her distress since he kept glancing at her. It was because of this that Sakura kept her head turned to the side, watching lazily as cars and people passed them.

It wasn't until there were barely any cars passing them anymore that Sakura realised they were a couple of minutes from home. At the thought of getting in, relaxing in a hot bath and probably taking a nap, Sakura sighed. Perhaps she just needed some relaxation and rest.

Once they had pulled up outside of her house, Sakura bit her lip before turning around to face Sasuke. "Sasuke, I–"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, Sasuke's lips were on hers. He didn't know what had possessed him to suddenly kiss her like he was, but in a way, Sasuke was glad that he did it as it occurred to him that he had really missed feeling her lips against his. Sakura immediately relaxed against him, kissing him back and pulling him closer with the hand that was fisted in the back of his hair. She couldn't believe what was happening! However instead of ruining the moment, Sakura tilted her head to the side ever so slightly as her lips moved against his and she couldn't help but shiver as his strong hand ran up her thigh, coming to a stop on her hip and squeezing lightly.

"I missed you," Sakura whispered against his lips as they parted for air, "_so_ much."

Her hand released his hair, but instead of pulling away, it trailed towards his face with her thumb stroking his cheek gently. There was a short moment of hesitation as Sasuke went to once again press his lips to hers and during his hesitation, it seemed something snapped into him as he immediately pulled away and sat back in his seat, refusing to even look at her. Seeing this, Sakura's eyes filled with tears. Was he just messing with her? Was he just trying to hurt her?

Without saying a word, Sakura got out of his car, slamming the door shut with unnecessary force before she entered her house and did the same with the front door. Her mother was pacing in the living room and hearing the noise, she ran out into the hallway, only to pause at the angry tears in Sakura's eyes and the hurt expression on her face.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" Mebuki asked quietly even though she already had an idea as to what happened. She did have windows, after all.

Sakura didn't even look up at her mother as she walked passed her, heading straight for the stairs and all but running to her room. Not even having the strength to undress, Sakura dived onto her bed, her body shaking with anger and frustration and sadness. The tears she had been trying so hard to hold back were suddenly pouring from her eyes and she seemed to have no control over them, no matter how hard Sakura tried to make them stop.

Why would he kiss her like that? Why would he kiss her at all if he didn't have feelings for her? What happened between them, yes, she had been in love with him (still _was_ in love with him) but not once during their year together had Sasuke ever told Sakura that he loved her. Not once had he ever showed that he may have had feelings for her that weren't just friendship and lust. So why would he just suddenly kiss her after treating her so coldly?

It felt like her heart was aching as Sakura curled up into a ball, her body shaking with her sobs.

Sasuke knew that she loved him and that she still does, so why would he do something like that? Was he just trying to hurt her? The kiss between them had felt so real though and it was hurting her head just thinking about the motive behind his actions. At times like these, Sakura would have gone to Ino and asked her what his actions meant, but had always made sure to not mention Sasuke's name (since Ino was apparently in love with him too). The blonde would have given her advice without a second thought and though she always enjoyed spreading, creating and hearing gossip, Ino had never told one of Sakura's secrets. Well, before Sakura left she hadn't.

Gripping a tight hold of her pillow and pressing it against her face, Sakura screamed.

She felt like she needed to hit something, to lash out and destroy something. There had been many occasions where she had felt this way and previously, Sakura would have acted on her urges without question, especially if someone who deserved it was in front of her.

* * *

><p>"<em>Did you hear?" <em>

"_No, what are you talking about?"_

"_You didn't hear about Haruno Sakura? Apparently last Friday at Uchiha Sasuke's party, she was seen going into one of the bedrooms with some guy and they didn't leave for the rest of the night."_

"_Are you being serious? What a slut!"_

"_She's a loud slut, too__,__ from what I've heard."_

_Sakura paused in her place beside Naruto, Ino and Sasuke, the three watching her with wide eyes as they also heard the latest gossip. Of course, as her eyes connected with Sasuke's, he already knew it was true since _he_ was the unknown guy they were talking about and it had been _his_ room they went into._

"_Sakura," Naruto said slowly, knowing the look in her eyes even though she wouldn't look at him, "come on, they're not worth it."_

_Ino caught his hand just as he went to grab Sakura and with a shake of her head, she said, "Don't, Naruto. Let her put the bitch in her place."_

_That was all Sakura needed as she suddenly turned around and slammed one of the girls into the lockers, a loud bang silencing everyone on the corridor. There was a startled squawk from the brown haired girl who was against the lockers, a girl that Sakura didn't even know, but that didn't stop her from slamming her fist into the girl's face._

"_You want to watch who you're spreading shit about!" Sakura spat angrily as she brought the girl's face closer to her own before smashing __it__ against her knee._

_The girl who had been talking about her was beautiful and had long brown hair with blue eyes, but Sakura barely even registered that fact as she continued to beat the girl, not even realising how far she'd gone until she was being pulled away by Sasuke and Naruto._

"_What the hell has gotten into you?" Sasuke hissed in her ear._

_However, instead of feeling guilty, Sakura merely looked down at the now crying girl __impassively __as she was helped up by her shocked friends. It looked as though she was barely even conscious as she staggered to her feet, gripping a tight hold of her friends and sobbing when the pain she could feel flared. Just as quietly, Sakura mumbled in return, "I felt like destroying something__."_

* * *

><p>As she remembered that day, Sakura's tears fell harder.<p>

Since returning to Konoha High, Sakura had only ever seen that girl she had beaten once and a day later, the girl transferred to another school.

There were so many things that Sakura regretted and surprisingly, that wasn't one of the biggest.

Did that make her a monster?

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I'm still feeling sick, so I decided to post another chapter for you all since you seem to enjoy me updating ;-)  
><strong>

**I saw the most stupid thing ever on my Facebook homepage this morning and it proper annoyed me for some reason. No, actually, I saw two things. The first was a video of two stupid looking guys, with a stupid looking saxophone, following around a man who was minding his own business and doing his shopping, when they started playing some sort of music. They captioned the video as 'following fat people around'. The word 'fat' really pisses me off. My little sister is overweight and it really gets to her when she sees things like that, when people comment on her weight. I'm not overweight, so I can't say that I know how it feels, but I know that I wanted to shove that saxophone up the guy's ass.**

**The second thing I saw was some guy called Nash or whatever. Somebody shared his status saying that when a girl is on her period, you should do a bunch of stuff for her and one of the things said to 'rub her stomach'. No. If you rub my stomach when I'm on _my_ period, I will punch you in the face. Doesn't he understand how much that shit hurts? When I'm on my stomach swells and I can barely even move. It frigging kills.**

**Anyways, enough about stuff like that. Rant over.**

**I might start updating two or three times a week since the response to this is amazing! Eight chapters and I already have over seventy reviews. I know others get hundreds and whatever, but one of my other stories got like seventy chapters for the whole thing. I don't care, though, because I am really grateful for those who review and point out my mistakes, what I could improve on and what they like about it. It genuinely makes my day.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	10. We're Just Friends

**Chapter 10 – We're Just Friends**

It had been two days since her kiss with Sasuke and whilst she shouldn't have been surprised by his silence, the fact that he hadn't come to see her or at least called her, hurt.

Was he simply messing with her? Was he trying to hurt her in some kind of revenge for hurting him? She had never meant for anybody to get hurt because of her actions or the way she acted! The sad thing was, was that Sasuke _was_ the type of guy who really would do anything to get revenge. Sakura could recall a time back when they were children where he had beaten the crap out of someone and said that it was revenge. When she asked what for, Sasuke never gave her an answer. Even to this day, she still didn't know.

Resting her head against the headrest of her car seat, Sakura looked out of the window lazily. Once again, it was Monday morning and just like every other morning, her mother was driving her to school like she was a child. Instead of getting annoyed, however, Sakura simply took a deep breath before slowly releasing it.

"How are you feeling?"

Tilting her head to the side, Sakura regarded her mother with a tired look. "Exhausted."

Mebuki frowned as she glanced at Sakura, not for the first time noticing the dark circles under eyes and the paler shade to her usual pale skin tone. It was hurting her seeing her daughter look so tired and it hurt even more knowing that it wasn't only physically that she was exhausted. Taking one hand off of the steering wheel, Mebuki placed it onto Sakura's knee and gave a comforting squeeze. "It's going to be okay, Sakura."

She looked back out of the window and let out a sigh. "How do you know that?"

Placing her hand back onto the steering wheel, Mebuki also sighed as she tried to think of a way to comfort Sakura, since actions were doing no good. "Honestly," Mebuki spoke slowly, uncertainly, "I don't. But you just have to take one day at a time and keep your head held high."

The rest of the drive was silent besides the radio, but it was so low that it wasn't even considered background music since Sakura hadn't been in the mood to listen to anything. Her mother's words kept playing around in her mind, telling her to just take one day at a time, but that was easier said than done. How was she supposed to deal with the nasty rumours, the name–calling and the stares that made her feel nothing more than an inch tall?

All of the treatment she was receiving made her feel like she was twelve years old again or like she had just started high school again, back when she had been bullied every day for many different reasons. The first was because of her unusually large forehead (which she had thankfully grown into now), the second because she was always top of the class and the third was because of her friendship with Sasuke. The only reason they had stopped bullying her was because somebody had stood up for her, literally _making_ the bullies all back off. Remembering who it had been, a small smile graced her lips. The boy, no, he was a _man_ now, had always been like an older brother to her, had always been there when she needed him.

Looking back at her mother, Sakura took a deep breath before asking, "Have you heard from Itachi lately?"

Mebuki raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by her question, but otherwise did nothing to show her surprise. It was a couple of seconds before she answered and when she did, it brought a smile to Sakura's lips. "I have. He's doing fine and is _very_ well respected now in the business."

"That's good." Sakura smiled more genuinely. "I know taking control of the company wasn't what he really wanted to do with his life, but it's nice to know that he's doing a good job."

"Oh, he's doing better than a good job." Mebuki smirked as she parked the car. "Itachi's known as one of the most powerful men in the world, now. You should see them all, Sakura. They actually bow to him!" she chuckled softly. "His face the first time it happened had been rather amusing, but he managed to control his expression before he gave away his shock. I'm so proud of him and I know his mother would be, too."

Glancing out of the window, Sakura's eyes widened and a bright smile graced her lips. "That's great, mom!" she told her before quickly kissing her mother's cheek, surprising the older woman. "I've got to go, so I'll see you after school."

Mebuki couldn't even get a word out as Sakura dashed out of the car and ran over to the boy who had grabbed her attention. Seeing who it was, she couldn't help but smile softly. At first, Mebuki hadn't been too sure about Sakura being friends with a boy like him, a boy who was tattooed, looked as though he was wearing eye liner, and rough looking, but she could see that it made Sakura happy and at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered to her.

The smile on Sakura's face was almost alarming, Gaara thought as the girl came barrelling over to him and he wondered why she looked so happy to see him, since nobody had ever looked at him in such a way before. Gaara even had to refrain from looking behind him to make sure she wasn't smiling at somebody behind him. But when he realised that it was _him_ she was smiling at, he came to a stop and waited for her to reach him.

"Gaara." she grinned.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why are you so happy?"

This time, she laughed, making his eyes narrow further. Had he said something funny? "I'm happy to see you. That's why! Don't tell me you're not happy to see me?"

At her fake wounded look, Gaara rolled his eyes and started walking again. "Not particularly."

If she was bothered by his words, Sakura didn't show it as she walked by his side, still smiling. She tried many times to grab his attention and get him to converse with her, but nothing worked. After her seventh failed attempt, Sakura told him, "I was a princess this weekend."

That got his attention as he looked down at her as though she was crazy. "_You_ were a princess?"

"You don't have to say it like _that_." Sakura grumbled before smiling softly. "I met a little girl and she called me 'Princess Sakura'."

"Hn."

A sly smirk played along her lips as she looked up at him. "I think _you _should start calling me by that name."

Again, he looked down at her as though she had lost her mind before narrowing his eyes and shaking his head. "I'm not calling you 'Princess Sakura'."

"Why?" Sakura whined as they came to a stop beside her locker.

Her locker door had been replaced since the whole 'slut' and 'who the fuck cares' incident. It had taken a few days, maybe even a week, to have it done but they eventually did it. The janitor had told her that he tried his best to wash it off, but nothing would work and they had to wait for a new door to arrive. Bless the old man, Sakura thought as she unlocked the locker and grabbed her books. It was the same janitor who had been in charge of their detention and he was really nice to her.

"It's foolish."

"Foolish?" she repeated, closing her locker door and turning to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Having an imagination isn't foolish!"

It was if it worked against you, Gaara thought as they continued walking towards class. Lately, his imagination had _really_ been working against him and making him think of things he didn't want to do, with people he sure as hell didn't want to do them with. The worst part about it was that the person who starred in his dreams, fantasies and imaginations was walking beside him, once again smiling and treating him like he was a person. Not many people treated him in such a way and Gaara was still wary about his friendship with Sakura. Actually, nobody but Sakura treated him that way! His own siblings feared him, his father detested him and everybody else treated him like a punching bag. Well, if they were foolish enough they _tried_ to use him as a punching bag.

When Sakura fell silent, Gaara looked down at her, wondering what could have suddenly ripped the smile from her face and stopped her inane chatter. Following her line of sight, he saw none other than Uchiha Sasuke at his locker with two girls practically drooling over him. The Uchiha didn't even seem to notice the two girls but when he looked up and his eyes connected with Sakura's, Sasuke quickly looked away and smirked at the two girls beside him, making them both swoon.

Sakura came to a stop and when she did, Gaara also stopped. "I–I'm sorry, Gaara, I need–"

"No, you don't." he told her in a low voice, standing in front of her and blocking her view of Sasuke, who he could feel _glaring_ at him. "Stop acting so pathetic and weak." she looked down at the ground with a frown settled on her features and in response Gaara grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, startling Sakura since he was never one to touch somebody. "_Stop acting weak_. That's what he wants."

A small smile graced her lips. "You're right."

"I always am."

As he removed his hand, Sakura shook her head and couldn't help but laugh as they continued on their way, both ignoring a certain Uchiha that was glaring at them both.

* * *

><p>"Mind if I join you for lunch?"<p>

At her question, Gaara looked up from his work and at her, before looking at Kakashi, who was at her other side and looking equally as surprised. "Why?"

She shrugged and wrote a couple of notes before answering, "Do I have to have a reason?"

_Yes_, he wanted to tell her, _yes you do_. Instead Gaara once again looked at Kakashi. "What about you?"

Kakashi just shook his head. "Sakura wants to try lunch without me today and decided she'd rather spend her lunch hour with you."

Again, all he could ask was, "Why?"

Gaara felt foolish that he couldn't say anything else, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed that was the only word that could pass his lips. Never and he meant _never_ had anybody ever joined him for lunch before, not even his own siblings. Sometimes it was because they were busy whilst other times it was because Gaara refused to have them eat with him. So to have Sakura ask him if she can join him for lunch was just… different and strange.

"I don't eat in the cafeteria." he told her, his eyes going back to his work.

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that since I never see you there." Sakura smirked before sighing. "If you don't agree, I'm just going to follow you around and annoy you."

Looking up at her once again, Gaara narrowed his eyes. "The rooftop."

The smile that lit up her face made him blink a little uncertainly. "I had a feeling it would be there. I'll need to buy my lunch before I meet you up there." she paused for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him. "You better not stand me up, Gaara or–"

"Or what?" he challenged.

Kakashi was stunned into silence at the sight of the two challenging one another and instead of feeling wary, he felt… surprised. Like Sakura had said not too long ago, it was obvious that Gaara would never harm her and it made him think. Had he misjudged Gaara? Or was it simply because the boy didn't relish the thought of hitting a girl? Kakashi seriously hoped that it was the latter, since it was kind of in his job description _not_ to misjudge or making judgements on those he helped.

"Like I'd tell you!" Sakura smirked. "If I tell you, you'd know what to expect. If I don't, then you're going to be looking over your shoulder, wondering when I'm going to attack and how."

Gaara looked amused as he looked at Sakura. "_You're_ going to attack _me_?"

Her smirk only grew. "Are you going to stand me up?"

There was a short pause before he answered. "No."

"Then it's a date!"

"It's not a date."

"Say what you want, Gaara," Sakura smirked as she gathered her things once the bell rang, "but _I'm_ calling it a date!"

* * *

><p>He was silent again and tensing whenever he heard her voice. It was like what had happened over the weekend had undone any progress they may have made. Damn… she would rather have Sasuke as a friend than not at all! Why was he suddenly treating her so coldly?<p>

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Looking up at Kakashi, who was looking down at her with a raised brow, Sakura frowned. "What?"

"Are you sure that you know what you're doing with Gaara?"

Once again, the person in front of her tensed and Sakura suddenly had the urge to hit him with her textbook. It would hurt, no doubt, since it was quite thick and heavy but that was the point wasn't it? Perhaps it would even knock some sense into him. For a moment, she entertained the thought of actually hitting Sasuke before sighing and looking back at Kakashi. "We're friends, Kakashi. Friends eat lunch together and hang out."

He nodded once, seeming to find her answer acceptable and like with Sasuke, Sakura had the urge to hit him, too. However, she respected Kakashi way too much to ever hit him. In a way, he was kind of like a father figure to her, though she wouldn't tell _him_ that.

"Split into your groups."

The words had Sakura's entire body tensing as she remembered that it was Monday, the day when they worked in their assigned groups for the project. Noticing her reaction, Kakashi inwardly frowned, but when Sasuke stood up and moved to take Hinata's place as she moved to sit by Kiba, he saw that Sasuke was just as tense and uncomfortable as she was. The way Sakura was practically sitting on his lap and the way Sasuke made sure to sit as far as his chair would allow, Kakashi concluded that something must have happened between them.

As he looked away from the two, however, his eyes caught Kurenai's, who gave a slight tip of her head towards the door and seeing the annoyed, yet concerned look in her eyes, Kakashi's mental frown only deepened. When he stood, Sakura shot him a panicked look, but he simply smiled and told her he needed to speak with Kurenai. There was a knowing, dark look that suddenly flooded her features, one that told him he had been found out. Sighing, he left the room with Kurenai, not entirely ready to be chewed out for his obvious error.

"Sakura–"

"We need to talk." Sakura felt like slapping herself as she interrupted him, earning herself a look of annoyance, but when he nodded once, silently telling her to continue, she did. "Look, Sasuke, whatever you feel towards me… whatever the hell that was on Saturday… we need to talk about it." when Sasuke looked away from her, obviously shutting her out, Sakura glared at him. "_Stop it_! I'm sick of you making me feel like I'm worthless, making me feel like I'm not even a person. So just… _stop_ _it_."

Sasuke looked back at her, noticing that her features were hard as she continued to glare at him. He had witnessed her anger many times, but never had she ever been truly angry at him. Never before had she ever looked at him with such anger.

"If you don't feel that way for me anymore," Sakura continued, fighting the urge to punch him whilst also trying to fight the urge to kiss him, "then tell me. Don't try making me jealous like you did this morning with those two," she paused for a brief second, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "_girls_."

It was obvious Sakura wanted to call them something different, something more offensive.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke retorted, "Like you were trying to make me jealous with that guy?"

She looked at him blankly, trying to think of who he could mean before suddenly understanding. "You mean Gaara? I wasn't trying to make you jealous! Gaara was _helping_ me." at his disbelieving look, Sakura groaned with annoyance. "Seeing you with those two girls annoyed me, Sasuke. And honestly, I was kind of hoping to avoid you after what happened on Saturday. Do you have_ any idea _how low your actions made me feel?" when he didn't reply, Sakura sighed. "I was going to turn around and go down a different hallway just so I didn't have to look at you with those girls, but he stopped me."

For a moment, Sasuke seemed unsure before he finally asked, "So you're not with Gaara?"

Shaking her head, Sakura gave him a small smile. "We're just friends."

* * *

><p>They ate in silence, it wasn't completely uncomfortable, but it was a little awkward.<p>

Gaara didn't seem to know how to act around her all of a sudden and Sakura wondered if perhaps she was invading his personal space or pushing too hard. He was shutting her out, she realised and not only did she realise that, but Sakura also realised that it hurt. It was because here, at Konoha High, Gaara was one of very few who actually spoke to her. There were only two other people here who spoke to her during school hours and that was Sai and Hinata and she rarely ever spoke to them! Sasuke wasn't included in that because he always seemed reluctant to speak to her, like he was being forced to. Also, except from English, he completely avoided her.

"So…" Sakura said a little awkwardly as she finished her sandwich. "How's your day been so far?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds, like he was trying to think of the right way to answer her before he finally spoke, giving her a cold stare. "Aggravating."

Chuckling rather sheepishly, Sakura took a swig of her water, putting the lid back on the bottle when she was done. "Yeah, I kind of know _that_ feeling. I've been getting this urge to just… _hit_… everyone."

This seemed to amuse Gaara as he smirked at her, the smirk making her heart flutter. "Welcome to my world."

Why was her heart beating faster to his smirk? Yes, Gaara was pretty attractive if you liked the whole grunge, bad boy look, but still… he was Gaara. He was her friend! Nothing would ever happen between them and not only because her heart belonged to Sasuke, but also because Sakura was sure that Gaara would not want to be romantically involved with her.

"You want to hit people, too?"

Again, his amusement grew. "All of the time."

Biting her lip, Sakura hesitantly asked, "Do you want to hit me?"

To this, he actually _chuckled_. It was a low throaty sound that made her smile. "I do most of the time."

For some reason, this made her smile brighten. "I want to hit you sometimes, too!"

Again, Gaara chuckled and Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It seemed Gaara was in a very good mood today and in response, she also felt her mood improve. If Gaara, the guy who rarely ever smiled, let alone _laughed_, seemed so… comfortable, then why shouldn't she?

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Not too sure about this chapter. I think when I wrote it (which was a couple of weeks, possibly even a month ago), I might have been struggling with writer's block or whatever.  
><strong>

**Thank you to the people who wished for me to get better soon!**

**After this chapter or the next, Sakura's past will slowly start coming out, so I hope you all stick around to find out what's up with her and what happened!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	11. Breaking The Routine

**C****hapter 11 – ****Breaking The Routine**

Have you ever thought about how many people think about you? It's kind of bizarre when you really think about it. Imagine someone, anyone, out of the blue, thinking of your face. Say something happens and because of this, they remember you. They remember your favourite song, how you dress, the way you talk, the look in your eyes when you are genuinely happy or angry. They remember you, even if you haven't seen or spoken to each other in years. Everything in life is a reminder of a person, a place, a moment. You may think that you have been forgotten, but you haven't. Not for a single moment.

That was the thought that kept running through Sakura's mind as her mother picked her up from school and she couldn't help but cringe every time it did because of how so many people would probably remember her.

It was Wednesday, so Sasuke would be coming over to her house after his after school practise. Nothing exciting happened since Monday except from Sakura now ate her lunch with Gaara on top of the school roof. Kakashi still stayed with her during classes, as she wasn't too sure she was ready for him to leave her around quite so many people just yet, and he didn't complain about it. Also, Sakura now took lunches to school to avoid the cafeteria at lunch.

On Monday, it had become apparent to her that Sakura disliked large crowds. Whereas before she had rather enjoyed having everyone's attention on her, now it just felt like they were all staring, that they were all judging. It helped having somebody by her side, _on_ her side. In fact it made the loneliness ease up, even if it was only by a little amount.

"Mom?" she didn't look away from the window as she spoke, but she knew immediately when she had Mebuki's attention. "Can I have my car back soon?" When there was no answer, Sakura looked up and rolled her eyes at the frown on her mother's face. "I feel like you don't even trust me."

Mebuki's hands tightened on the steering wheel as a pained look flitted across her features. "I'm just worried about you, Sakura. I don't want a repeat of–"

"That won't happen again!" Sakura interrupted her mother with a harsh glare before taking a deep, calming breath. "Look, mom, I'm tired of being taken everywhere like I'm a child again. It's annoying and embarrassing."

She didn't take offence to the 'embarrassing' comment, for Mebuki could kind of understand how Sakura was feeling about that part. During her pregnancy, Kazashi hadn't allowed her to do anything that could possibly harm their daughter, including driving. She could still remember how it felt as an independent and proud woman such as herself was forced to rely on others. It had been agonizing and at one point, Mebuki had hated Kazashi for his over–protectiveness. Now though, she could understand why he did it. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her daughter before looking back at the road. "How about we wait until the New Year? It's November now, so you don't have to wait all that long. Besides, you will need to retake your test."

Damn. Sakura hadn't been aware that she would have to retake her test. She had barely passed it the first time! Maybe she _should_ wait until New Year because that way, she would have time to study. "On one condition," Sakura smiled and when Mebuki glanced at her with a curious expression, her smile grew, "the car I want is a Volvo C30."

"That's an old car though, isn't it?"

Shrugging, Sakura looked back out of the window. "I still want it."

* * *

><p>She and Sasuke were sat on her bedroom floor once again, but it seemed different this time. Her mother had trusted them enough to actually go back to work for a couple of hours and not only that, but Sasuke was acting differently. It was putting her on edge, if Sakura was completely honest. She preferred routine and knowing what was going to happen.<p>

And then, Sakura felt her hair being brushed off of her shoulder before lips were being pressed there. It annoyed her how quickly her body responded to his touches, how just a simple kiss was making a familiar heat pool in her stomach.

"Don't, Sasuke." Sakura said softly and pulled away.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why? I thought you wanted this."

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Sakura looked down at their textbooks and started to read but Sasuke quickly covered it with his hand. With a sigh, she looked up at him and said, "I don't want to do anything when I know that you'll be doing the same with another girl by the weekend."

He rolled his eyes before leaning forward and pressing his lips to her shoulder again and between soft kisses, he spoke. "Sakura," after another kiss that brought him closer to her neck, Sasuke continued, "I haven't done anything with another girl since the moment I was with you."

Sakura's eyes widened as she gently lifted his head and stared him in the eyes. Was he telling the truth? Had he really not been with another girl since they had started seeing each other nearly two years ago, or when she had left nearly a whole year ago? Sakura could believe him a little, since he had been a completely different person when they were together and treated her well. But she also couldn't believe him because, well, because he was a guy. She shook the thoughts from her head. No. Not all guys were like that.

"Please tell me that you're telling the truth." Sakura whispered as she closed her eyes. "I won't be able to go through losing you again. You have no idea how hard it was for me."

The answer to her question was a kiss, a kiss that made her breathing shallow and her pulse quicken, especially when Sasuke lowered her onto the floor, quickly climbing on top of her as his hands moved over her body hungrily.

"Let's move to the bed." Sakura whispered breathlessly as Sasuke moved his kisses to her neck.

He shook his head. "Too far."

As he cupped her through her underwear and teased her, Sakura could only agree. Her bed was indeed too far and she wanted nothing more for Sasuke to just hurry up and take her, even if it meant having sex on her bedroom floor. Showing him what she wanted, Sakura's hands went straight to the buttons of his pants, unbuttoning them as quickly as she could and pushing them and his underwear down just far enough to free him.

Leaning back on his knees, Sasuke pushed her skirt up and her underwear down, lifting her hips off of the ground and aligning them with his. However, he paused right at the last moment. "Are you still on the pill?"

She nodded, her eyes dark and clouded with lust as she told him, "Of course." It wasn't like she had started taking it because she was having sex!

That was all Sasuke needed and hearing her words, he entered her with one hard thrust, making Sakura's eyes roll as she lifted her hands over her head and tried to find something, _anything_, to hold onto. He was by no means gentle as he took her, making the sound of flesh smacking flesh fill the room as well as her moans. It was as though Sasuke was putting all of his anger at her leaving, his sadness, his pain, into his thrusts.

She took it all without complaint. In fact, if Sasuke was thinking clearly, he would have been surprised that she did. Sakura's nails dug into the floor, yet not hard enough to leave marks in the wood, as she let him take his frustrations out on her. There wasn't a single thought in her mind as she felt heat coiling inside of her, as she felt her mind drift from her body.

His hold on her was almost painful as Sasuke gripped her hips and pounded into her, causing Sakura's body to jerk as he did. Part of him was telling him, warning him, to ease up, to be more gentle with her, but he couldn't find it in himself to do so. Sasuke wanted her to see what her leaving had done to him without actually saying the words and like every other time they had been together, Sasuke felt his male pride soar as he heard her cries rise in pitch, as he felt her clamp down on him as she reached orgasm.

He didn't even notice that her eyes held a faraway look, one that would have told him that despite being there physically, she was most definitely not there mentally.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Probably not what you all would have expecting, since I said you would be seeing more of her past, but I also said that it would be slowly building or whatever.  
><strong>

**I did have more to say, but I just got an alert that the latest Naruto chapter is out and I _need_ to go and read it! I may be nice and update again either tonight or tomorrow.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	12. The Destroyed Friendship

**Chapter 12 – The Destroyed Friendship**

Thunderstorms had always been something Sakura hated. She hated the loud, booming crack of thunder, the way the lightning would flash and light up the room almost scarily. Every time the latter happened, her eyes and mind would play tricks on her and Sakura would be certain that she could see somebody standing in the corner of her room, silently watching her and waiting for their moment to attack. Previously, she would have blamed that on watching too many horror films, but now Sakura wasn't so sure.

As well as that, there was also another reason why she hated thunderstorms. It was during a thunderstorm that her friendship with Naruto had started to fall apart, it was during a thunderstorm that she did something she shouldn't have.

Sakura sat next to her mother on the sofa and looked up at the television. However, instead of seeing the movie she and Mebuki were about to watch, Sakura was seeing something much different.

* * *

><p><em>Sakura turned up the television to tune out the loud rain and thunder.<em>

_She had never enjoyed thunderstorms – they always made her nervous and uneasy. So, like every other time there was a thunderstorm, she invited her best friend over. For some strange reason that she couldn't even begin to understand, Naruto actually _enjoyed_ the storms, especially the loud thunder. Because of this, she felt safer with him around. If he wasn't freaking out like she was, then he would be able to keep her safe._

"_You never change." Naruto chuckled as Sakura sat back against the sofa._

_Casting him a glance out of the corner of her eye, Sakura lifted her legs onto the sofa and folded them by her side. "It's not strange to hate thunderstorms." she said for the seventh time that night._

_Naruto grinned, his blue eyes shining even though the only light in the room was from the television. "And it's not strange _not_ to hate them either."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes and __rested__ her head on his shoulder, turning back to the movie. As she did, Naruto fixed the blanket around them and got comfortable, his arm holding her to him almost lazily._

_She and Naruto had always been close. If there was ever a problem, Naruto was always there to help her with it. It was as though he knew everything about her – but not in a creepy way. Whenever she needed someone, he was always there, no matter what. As Sakura thought more about that, a question settled in her mind. Why had she never tried to make a go of things with this boy? He cared for her, she cared for him. They had known each other since forever and knew everything about one another. What could go wrong?_

"_Naruto." Sakura spoke quietly._

_Noticing the change in her body language and voice, Naruto looked down at Sakura__ with his concern obvious on his features__. "Is something wrong, Sakura__–__chan?"_

_Eyebrows furrowed as though she was in deep thought, Sakura pulled out of Naruto's hold but just as he was about to say something, she started to move closer to him. The blond swallowed hard at the determined look in her eye as she stared at his lips. There was no hesitation as Sakura leaned her head forward, her lips ghosting o__ver__ his and making his heart beat impossibly fast before finally closing the distance._

_His heart had all but stopped as Sakura kissed him. He couldn't believe what was happening – Sakura, the girl he had been in love with for years, was _kissing_ him! _She_ was kissing _him! _What was he supposed to do? Naruto yelled at himself in his mind, telling himself to calm down before he ended up ruining his chance and making himself look like an idiot._

_Just as Sakura was about to pull away because he wasn't kissing her back, Naruto cupped her face gently and returned her kiss. Her sigh seemed to boost his confidence as Naruto slowly licked her lower lip, asking for entry. Sakura smiled into their kiss and opened her mouth as she welcomed his tongue into her mouth with her own._

_After what seemed like only a couple of minutes but was in fact an hour or so, Naruto started to gently push Sakura backwards and her breathing grew shallow as she led down against the sofa with him on top of her. _

_Their kisses became more heated as Sakura started to pull at the hem of his shirt and in response Naruto gave a small smirk before he lifted his arms, allowing her to take it off. Once it was thrown somewhere in the room, Sakura's hands traced every line and every muscle on his upper torso until eventually, her hands were gripping his shoulders and in his hair as he moved his kisses to her neck, as his own hands stroked her sides lovingly._

_His entire body trembled __the moment__ he heard Sakura moan. How long had he wanted something like this? How long had he been in love with this girl? Naruto would say that he wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer for her, but now that they had started, it was like he couldn't stop. It was like Sakura was a drug to him. A dangerous, highly addictive drug._

_As they started to lose more pieces of clothing, soft sighs turned into gasps and moans. Their skin grew slick with sweat as they continued to touch each other, to kiss, to tease and to play. By now, Sakura's legs were beginning to quiver as Naruto fully lowered himself against her once more. Her cheeks were burning red, but not out of embarrassment. Her stomach repeatedly clenched and her palms were tingling in ways that made it feel as though her entire body was tingling._

_When they became one, Sakura's heart warmed when she realised Naruto was taking it slowly for her. As he continued to place kisses on her face, along her jaw and up and down her neck, he whispered soft words to her. He whispered words filled with so much love, hope and happiness that it almost caused her to burst into tears._

_Then, he started to move. _

_As he moved in and out of her, Naruto held her body close to his body and she also did the same. There was never a moment where they weren't holding onto each other tightly, as though they were almost afraid to let go._

_Once the pain had slowly subsided into pleasure, Sakura met his thrusts with hers. Her nails dug into his back, earning her a groan of pleasure from Naruto before he pressed his lips to hers once again. It was like nothing either of them had ever felt before, which was kind of obvious, considering that before this, they had both been virgins._

"_Sakura__–__chan," Naruto whispered against her lips between kisses, "I love you."_

_It seemed like those three words were all Sakura needed to let go, followed by Naruto as the feeling of her orgasm around him caused him to fall over the edge._

* * *

><p>Everything had changed after that night. It was because of her that her friendship with Naruto had been damaged beyond repair. She could see in his eyes that he wanted more than friendship and that he loved her more than anything, but Sakura just couldn't return those feelings, no matter how hard she tried. Why couldn't she love Naruto? He was the perfect guy for her! Being with him would have been as easy as breathing.<p>

"Sakura, are you okay?"

Looking up at her mother, she saw her staring down at her with concerned eyes. She had every right to be concerned, Sakura thought as she lifted her hand and wiped her cheeks. Sure enough, there were tears there. Whenever Sakura thought of that night with Naruto and just how perfect it had been, it always made her cry. It made her cry because she wanted him to be happy, because she never meant to hurt him with her selfishness.

"I'm fine." Sakura whispered before standing up and clearing her throat. "I'm kind of tired, do you mind if I go to bed?"

Mebuki's expression saddened as she looked at her daughter. She didn't like seeing her in pain and what she hated more than that was that there was nothing she could do about it, because it wasn't physically that Sakura was hurting. "That's fine. If you need anything though, just shout for me, okay? Even if you only want to talk, I'm here."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Looking out at the storm, Naruto sighed before placing his head into his hands.<p>

Ever since that night with Sakura, he hadn't enjoyed thunderstorms as much as he used to. He would still watch them with his mother, since she loved to watch them too, but his heart just wasn't in it anymore.

The morning after they had been together had been awkward. He had told Sakura that he loved her but she didn't say it back. That had to be the thing that hurt him the most. It wasn't the fact that they had had sex – although that was part of the reason – it was the fact that he finally learned she didn't feel the same. He had learned it in the most painful way possible. By giving herself to him, he thought she loved him, that she wanted to give 'them' a try. He thought that that was the reason why. To make things worse, Sakura couldn't even look him in the eye! It took her months to finally look at him and when she did, Naruto almost wished that she hadn't. Sakura looked so broken, so sad and so hurt. It was like she had become a completely different person and it made him question his actions. Had there been a moment during that night that she had said no? Had he been too caught up to realise she didn't want to be with him that way? But there hadn't, so it left him feeling more confused than ever. It hurt him so much when he saw that look in her eyes – it was part of the reason why he couldn't speak to her. It hurt too much and he hated himself for it.

After an uncomfortable breakfast and Sakura telling him that he didn't need to worry about her getting pregnant and whatnot, he had left due to the tension being too much for him. Naruto already knew that she wouldn't get pregnant – she was on the pill and had been since she was fourteen. It wasn't because she slept around – he was her first time, after all – it was to do with things he'd rather not think about.

"Oi, am I boring you?"

Looking up, Naruto frowned ever so slightly at his mother, who was looking at him with a mixture of anger and concern. They would usually banter with one another, but honestly, he just wasn't in the mood. "Sorry." he mumbled before looking up at the sky just as the thunder once again rumbled loudly, followed by a flash of lightning in the distance. Or was it the other way around? Man. He was so tired that he couldn't even tell!

Kushina placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "Are you thinking about Sakura?" when he simply sighed, she frowned. "I bumped into Mebuki the other day."

"That's nice, I suppose."

"Shut up and let me talk!" Kushina snapped before softening her tone again. "She asked about you, you know, wanted to know how you were doing."

Naruto looked up at his mother. "And what did you say?"

Shrugging, Kushina removed her hand and sat down beside Naruto. "I told her the truth: that you're a miserable idiot because of her daughter." at his frown, Kushina raised an eyebrow, watching her son out of the corner of her eyes. "Want to know what she told me?" like her, he raised a brow. "Mebuki told me that Sakura has had it _really_ hard this past year, especially in the last eight months."

He had already known that due to her fight with Ino and the fact that Kakashi was always hanging around her. He knew the older man, but not enough to say that he actually _knew_ him. Kakashi was an old student of his dad's. Minato had told him that Kakashi was brilliant at what he does, that he was a genius, but the moment Naruto told his dad that he was helping Sakura, Minato went silent and refused to discuss Kakashi's job any further. So all Naruto really knew was that he was either a counsellor or – considering Sakura's anger – someone who worked with people who had anger issues. He refused to believe that Kakashi was a psychiatrist. Sakura wasn't crazy, after all.

"Mebuki seemed really upset, Naruto," Kushina's voice was firmer now as she looked at her son seriously, "scared too."

"Scared?" Naruto repeated as he looked back up at Kushina.

The red haired woman nodded. "I know what she did was wrong, but could you at least try to listen to Sakura's apology? Or her version of what happened? For all you know, something serious could have happened to her."

Naruto jumped up out of his place and pointed an accusing finger at his mother. "You know why she left!"

Standing up, Kushina simply raised a brow. "Yes, I do."

"Why?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm not telling you that!" Kushina snapped angrily and seeing that her anger had taken Naruto by surprise, she sighed and softened her tone again. "You know as well as anyone else that I considered Sakura as one of my own and you'll never understand how protective a mother can be of her children, Naruto, especially when…" she paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again, "especially when things like that have happened. She really regrets hurting you, you know, and if you just listen to her, she might tell you!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "If you're trying to guilt me into forgiving her, then it's not working!"

With that, he stormed back into the house, slamming the door shut behind him, missing the single tear that slipped down his mother's cheek.

_Sakura_…

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So here's the extra chapter like I promised. I decided to post it since the last chapter was pretty short.**

**By the way, I do _not_ agree with kids having sex! I think it's absolutely disgusting, but you have to keep in mind how hormonal teenagers can be or whatever the hell you want to call it. And just so you all know, Sakura was fifteen (which isn't really that young if you think about it as the legal age in my country is sixteen, but still) when she gave her virginity to Naruto. Though, because of the whole school system shit and whatnot, I made him older than her by a few months. His birthday is still October 10th, though. It's just that he was born a year earlier than he was supposed to be (so that I could keep him in Sakura and Sasuke's year). So in this story, he's like five or six months older than Sakura instead of being younger than her.  
><strong>

**I can't remember who, but somebody asked me if I ship SasuSaku more than GaaSaku. Honestly, I _adore_ GaaSaku, but don't think that I'm going to make this all about them! This is SasuSaku, too. And to be honest, whenever I try to think of who Sakura will end up with in the anime or manga, I always see her with Sasuke (though I do hope she'll somehow magically end up with Gaara or Kakashi). So, for now, you will just have to wait and see who she chooses! ;-)**

**Even though none of you probably care, I've got a spot _right in between my fucking eyes_ and _it kills!_ I've tried everything to get rid of it, but it's one of those under the skin ones. Ugh! If anybody has any tips, please tell me them!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	13. A Friend To Rely On

**Chapter 13 – ****A Friend To Rely On**

Last night had been hard on her since it had been a thunderstorm, so after saying goodnight to her mother, she had spent the remainder of the night staring at her ceiling, trying her best to fall asleep but no matter how hard she tried, sleep just would not come to her.

Yesterday, during their study session, Sakura had let Sasuke take his frustrations out on her and not too long after that, he had left. It had made her hurt and her stomach twist and _cry_. She had cried so hard that afterwards, she got a headache that made it almost impossible to move. No, Sasuke hadn't just got up and left. He had kissed her, told her that Itachi would be expecting him home any moment and then left. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, since Sasuke had been over at her house an hour longer than what he usually would be, but it still hurt that he left anyway.

Dragging herself out of bed, Sakura quickly showered, but as she cleaned her body, she paused at the sight of the bruises on her hips and waist. Slowly, almost numbly, she placed her hands over them, noticing that her own fingers were too small to match the bruises. There was no doubt in her mind that they were from Sasuke. Did he mean to be so rough with her? He had never left bruises on her before. Dropping her hands from her hips, Sakura continued her shower before drying and straightening her hair, doing her makeup and getting dressed.

Part of her just wanted to go back to bed, to curl up under her covers and cry. She didn't want to see or speak with anyone, especially her parents. Thankfully, when Sakura entered the kitchen, her breakfast was waiting for her and her mother simply smiled before also going to get ready.

Eating her breakfast was much more difficult than it should have been, especially when each mouthful she took made her want to throw it back up. It took everything in her to actually keep her food down, knowing how important it was that she did.

It seemed like only minutes later that she was in the car, staring out of the window as Mebuki drove her to school. The drive was silent and she could tell it was because her mother could pick up on her mood. Each curious glance sent her way made it feel as though Mebuki could actually see the bruises Sasuke had left on her body. It made her nervous and even slightly disgusted with herself. Would her parents be disappointed if they knew she had allowed Sasuke to use her body in such a way?

Arriving at school, Sakura couldn't even bring herself to look Mebuki in they eye as she got out and muttered a "See you later."

She could feel her mother's eyes on her as she walked into school and Sakura wanted nothing more than to just run into the building, but to do so would give her even more unwanted attention.

Her eyes locked onto onyx as Sakura made her way to her locker and for a moment, she paused, finding it almost hard to breathe as Sasuke stared at her with unreadable eyes. Did he feel bad? It didn't matter because a second later, Sakura turned away and opened her locker, grabbing the books she would need for her first couple of lessons. Just like Mebuki, Sakura could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to look back at him, even when she had finished her task and made her way to her first lesson.

Just as she was about to enter her class, red entered her vision and Sakura quickly grabbed his arm, ignored how he tensed and pulled him away from the door so she could speak to him.

"What are you doing?" Gaara demanded, his eyes practically burning a hole into Sakura's hand.

"I–I made a mistake," she whispered to Gaara suddenly, tears slowly filling her eyes although she refused to let them fall, "I made a mistake and I…"

"You don't want to face your parents." he finished for her before continuing. "What makes you think I'll help you?"

The look on her face made his gut twist as she told him, "Because you're my friend and I would do the same for you."

Gaara's eyes narrowed even further. "Let go of me."

Slowly, almost unsurely, Sakura did as he asked, but kept her eyes on his the entire time. "Please, Gaara. I really don't want to face them right now, especially my mom."

He stared at her for a couple of moments, trying to think whether or not he should help her. The pathetic look in her eyes was making his stomach twist, almost making him _want_ to help her. Something bad must have happened to make her act in such a way and Gaara couldn't deny that he wanted to find out what, but could he really invite her over to his house? He had never had a guest before. It was only Kankuro that invited people over and they were mostly one night stands from clubs that he had picked up or the occasional girlfriend.

"You can come over after school." Gaara said a little reluctantly, still eyeing her curiously, suspiciously.

The look of relief in her eyes and on her face as she let out a sigh surprised him. "Thank you, Gaara. I owe you so much for this."

* * *

><p>Gaara had been staring at her all day. Well, the times when they were together he had been. It made her nervous. What could he see when he looked at her? Did he like what he saw, or did it make him nauseous? It sometimes made Sakura nauseous when she looked in the mirror and saw herself. She never liked her reflection anymore. It always felt like somebody she didn't know was looking back at her, a complete stranger.<p>

It wasn't only Gaara who had been staring at her, either. Just about everybody had been. Why? Did she have something on her face? Was her uniform a mess? Or worse, could they see her bruises? Was she walking funny? Oh God she hoped not. Sasuke _had_ been rough with her the night before, after all, and she did ache slightly between her thighs.

"You seem different today." Kakashi commented as they sat down in their usual seats.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Is that why everybody keeps staring at me?"

"Perhaps."

So he had noticed the staring, too? At least it wasn't just her imagination.

Once again, Sasuke was tense as he sat in front of her and beside her, Hinata seemed even more hesitant than usual. The latter didn't surprise her though because like her mother, Hinata seemed to easily pick up on her mood. Instead of saying anything or staring however, she gave Sakura a genuine smile and turned to the front as Kurenai entered the English class to begin their lesson.

"Why? Do I look different or something?"

Kakashi regarded her silently for a moment, seeming to think over his answer before frowning. "It's your eyes. How's your mood?"

This time, Sasuke looked as though he wanted to turn around and look at her himself. He didn't. "I'm fine, Kakashi. I couldn't sleep last night because the thunderstorm kept me up most of the night and I… had a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked curiously, yet she could see the concern in his eyes clearly. "Not here, of course. But we could go to my office if you want."

She was so tempted to take him up on that offer, but Sakura instead shook her head. "No. That's okay, thanks."

"If you change your mind–"

"I'll tell you if I do." she smiled.

* * *

><p>The drive to Gaara's house was almost as silent as the drive to school with Mebuki. Sakura had called her mother at lunch, telling her she would be hanging out with Gaara after school. She had sounded like she didn't want to let her, but in the end, Mebuki had agreed and told her to ring her if there were any problems.<p>

She kept her eyes on the window, staring at the houses, buildings and cars that they passed. It surprised her when Gaara turned a corner and the houses became much larger, looking more like mansions then houses. However, despite her shock, she didn't say anything. Although when they finally parked outside of an almost ridiculously large house, Sakura almost blurted out that it couldn't be his place. She wouldn't have meant it in a bitchy way, she was just genuinely surprised. Gaara had a tattoo on his _forehead_, he wore dark clothing and looked pretty rough, like the sort of person you _really_ do not want to get on the wrong side of. Seeing him walking straight up to a front door that could easily fit three people through at the same time, watching him unlock it and enter the mansion, holding the door open for Sakura, was surprising.

Wait.

He was holding the door open for her? Who could have guessed that he could be such a gentleman!

"Hurry up unless you'd rather stay outside."

Maybe not.

Sakura gave a hesitant smile as she hurried up the steps, following him into the house. When she saw him remove his shoes at the door, she did the same. Her mother used to tell her to take her shoes off all the time, but had eventually stopped when she realised there was no point in doing so, because Mebuki herself often forgot to take them off.

The house was even more beautiful inside, she noticed as she followed Gaara into the living room. It was filled with dark furniture, looking almost like a goth's house and Gaara actually seemed to be right at home. Not only that, but whilst it was dark, it also looked traditional.

For a moment, Gaara looked unsure and was silent before asking, "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure." Sakura smiled, inwardly grinning at the fact Gaara was being _nice_. "…Thanks."

He nodded once before leaving the room and once he had, Sakura walked over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures on it. What surprised her was that Gaara was only in two of them. Did he not like having his picture taken? One of them was back when he was younger – Sakura was guessing he was around two or three when the picture had been taken. The smile on his face was heartbreaking, though. It didn't look all that genuine and he was only a child. As for the second picture, it looked quite recent. Unlike the first, on this picture, he wasn't smiling at all. On both pictures with him stood two others, they were most likely his brother and sister, since they looked around his age. They didn't look alike, though.

"Oi, I know you!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder at the doorway and frowned at the brunet standing there, his eyes narrowed on her. He was the guy on the picture with Gaara! Not liking the way he was looking at her and the fact that she had her back to him, Sakura turned around completely so that she was facing him. "Do you?"

"There aren't many pink haired girls in the city. In fact, I think you're the only one." he replied coldly whilst folding his arms over his chest.

She frowned. Apparently, this guy knew her from somewhere and by the way he was holding himself, speaking to her and looking at her, Sakura was going to guess that she had pissed him off somehow. There was something familiar about him, but that was only his eyes. Apart from them, nothing about him reminded her of anyone or came up in her memories. "Uh… do I know you from somewhere?"

It seemed he didn't appreciate her words in the slightest as he took an intimidating step forward, making her take a step back as her eyes widened. She couldn't move any further back without bumping into the fireplace and it made her uneasy. "Don't play games with me! You know who I am. What? Have you come here to play another joke, get me fired again?"

"Wait, what?" Sakura demanded and forced herself to stop giving him more ground. Trying to seem as confident and unshaken as possible, Sakura glared at him and clenched her fists. "I have no idea what you're even talking about! Who are you? And what are you talking about, get you fired _again_? I've never done anything wrong to you!"

"You don't remember?" he seemed shocked for a moment before his eyes narrowed once again. "That's sluts for you, I suppose. They use their bodies to get things they want and don't care about anyone but themselves."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What? I–I…"

This time when his shock returned, it stayed there. "You honestly don't remember?" when Sakura slowly and unsurely shook her head, he frowned. "You came into a shop that I was working in and you were with some blonde who had massive tits. When you tried to buy some vodka, I asked to see your I.D, but you didn't have any," his eyes narrowed once again, "because you're underage. You told me at the time that you were eighteen and that you'd prove it by coming back after–"

She shook her head weakly, eyes filling with tears. "S–Stop, I remember now. I–I'm sorry that you got fired."

"Save it." he snapped. It wasn't like he needed the money, but it had been embarrassing that he had lost a bet to his sister. "I don't need a slut's apology, it's meaningless. Just tell me what you're doing here."

"Kankuro." a voice muttered darkly, making shivers run up the man's spine as he quickly turned to the doorway, seeming shocked to find Gaara there. "Is that any way to treat a guest?" By this time, Sakura was trembling as she tried to fight back her tears and seeing this only made Gaara angrier. "What the fuck did you say to Sakura?"

Kankuro's eyes widened even further. "Y–You mean, she's here to see you?"

Rolling his eyes, Gaara walked further into the room so that he was beside Sakura. "I was the one who invited her."

Once Kankuro was over his shock, his eyes narrowed and he looked at Sakura with disgust. "Oi, Gaara, you'll want to watch yourself around her. Girls like _her_ are nothing but trouble. It was because of her that I got fired from that shop last year!"

"It was because of yourself that you were fired." Gaara retorted, not seeming bothered by Kankuro's warning. "If you weren't more concerned about sleeping around, then you wouldn't have been fired." When Kankuro looked as though he was about to start arguing, Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Enough. I've had enough of listening to your annoying voice. It's pissing me off."

And just like that, Kankuro left the room, looking paler than before.

Sakura smiled weakly as she wiped under her eyes. "Y–You'll have to teach me how you do that."

"Do what?"

Looking up at him, her smile turned into a smirk. "Intimidate people without even raising your voice or threatening to use violence."

"It isn't about how loud you are." he told her as they sat down on the sofa, passing her a drink as they did. "It's how you say things and your attitude."

Her smirk widened once she had sipped her drink and placed it onto the coffee table. "Are you saying you have an attitude problem, Gaara–_kun_?"

Like her, Gaara also smirked and Sakura tried to tell herself that it _didn't_ make her heart beat faster. "Definitely."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - If you haven't managed to figure it out yet, Kankuro was the guy from the shop in chapter two, the one she tricked into selling her alcohol.  
><strong>

**A few people have been telling me they miss Gaara and I know, I do too! He's adorable and I just want to squeeze his cheeks, though I doubt he'd appreciate that.**

**I'm definitely going to stick to updating quite a few times a week because I've been on a roll lately. I'm not kidding, either! I've already gotten to like, chapter forty, I think. I warned you all that this is going to _looooong_. Or... I might surprise you with the updates and keep you wondering when I'll be updating next. ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	14. Painful Memories

**Chapter 14 – Painful Memories**

Getting ready for school was a little harder this morning, Sakura concluded as she pulled her dark grey waistcoat over her usual long sleeved, white blouse. It seemed harder to force herself to keep moving and don't even get her started on how long it had taken her to get out of bed. It had taken her mother seven attempts before she had finally all but dragged Sakura out of it. After pulling on a pair of knee high black winter socks, Sakura walked into her closet and slipped on a pair of dark grey boots that also reached her knee. It was much colder now, but at their school, girls never wore pants. Sakura couldn't remember whether or not it was a rule, but she could remember that never had a girl ever worn them, instead choosing knee high socks or tights. The waistcoat she was wearing wasn't to keep warm though, she just liked how it looked with her uniform.

Not bothering with makeup, Sakura quickly brushed and straightened her hair before sluggishly walking downstairs for her breakfast. Like every other morning, it had been waiting for her, but also like every other morning, she had had to force it down. Now, Sakura was sat in the car with her mother on the way to school, trying not to throw it all back up.

Her life felt like routine now, like she knew exactly what to do or what to expect.

It had been two weeks since what had happened between her and Sasuke. During that time, they didn't speak to each other. He didn't come over. She didn't ask him to. Perhaps they just needed some time? Sakura wasn't so sure. In English, when they needed to sit next to each other and discuss what they had done so far, they still didn't speak. They simply got on with the work. She could tell that she had Kakashi worried, but what could she say to him? "_Oh, me and Sasuke had sex. Well, it was more like he seduced me, used my body to take out his frustrations and hasn't spoken to me once in the past two weeks._" No… because it wasn't entirely true, was it? Sasuke hadn't used her at all. She had let him take her. Sakura had wanted so badly to take away all the pain she had caused him…

Sighing almost inaudibly, Sakura made her way to her first lesson. Today, she had English first, since it was Monday. And since it was Monday, it also meant they would be splitting up into their groups. Why did the Gods hate her so much? Hadn't they made her suffer enough with the things they had already thrown at her?

Also, since she had been over at his house, Gaara had been a littler warmer to her. Well, as warm as Gaara could be. He didn't seem against spending time with her anymore. In fact, they met after school two or three times a week, sometimes even at the weekend, and spent the entire day together. They would go watch movies, go to Sakura's favourite café (the one where she met Azuki), or just hang out. Despite his whole 'I hate everyone' attitude, Gaara could actually be quite a nice person. Not that she'd ever say that to _him_.

It was ten minutes after the bell that Kakashi arrived, making her scowl at him for once again being late. In return, he gave her a sheepish smile and tried to use an excuse of him helping some old woman. She knew it was a lie, but couldn't help but laugh at his excuse.

"Still not talking?"

Sakura knew exactly who he was talking to and who about, so simply shook her head.

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, nothing good will come out of ignoring each other."

"Thanks for your advice, sensei."

Again, he sighed before looking forward, apparently not going to continue his conversation.

She bit her lip. What was the harm in asking one person what she should do? But would Kakashi understand? Or would he tell her she was too young to be getting herself involved with boys like she was or had been? Damn it. Why was it such hard work being a teenager? It wasn't fair. "Kakashi…" he turned his head to the side, regarding her silently. "I think… I think I made a mistake."

"What do you mean?" This time, he turned to face her fully.

It almost made her scream with annoyance when she felt those traitor tears fill her eyes. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, they just kept coming. "I might have made something worse t–than what it already is…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sasuke was the most tense she had ever seen him before, most likely because he could hear the shake in her voice and what she was saying. At her other side, although Sakura couldn't see her, she knew that Hinata would be hesitating on what she should do. She hoped the Hyuuga would just ignore her and get on with her work.

"What makes you think that?"

She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek before she wiped it away almost furiously. "B–Because it's _me_. I always make things worse than what they already are." Kakashi frowned, silently telling her to continue, but Sakura quickly looked around before looking back at him. "C–Can we go to your office? I… I don't want to talk about t–this here."

It only took one look for him to realise what Sakura was really saying.

_Translation: I'm about to breakdown and I don't want the entire class to see._

Almost instantly, Kakashi was on his feet and grabbing Sakura's things for her. He gave a curt nod to Kurenai before guiding the pink haired teenager out of the class as quickly and as silently as he possible could. Sakura could feel everybody staring at her, just like they did every day, so kept her head down, hoping that her hair kept her face covered. The stare that got to her the most, however, with Sasuke's, but Sakura refused to meet his eyes.

The moment they were outside of the classroom, Sakura was pretty much hyperventilating and seeing this, Kakashi forced her to lean against the wall, placing her things down onto the ground as he did. Her tears were coming much faster now, seeming much more alarming and it worried him. One moment, she had been… not fine, but definitely not like this and then the next, it was almost as though Sakura was having a panic attack.

"It's okay, Sakura." he told in what he hoped was a soothing voice, his eyes glued onto hers even though she was staring at the floor with wide eyes. "Nothing–"

"_Don't_." Sakura whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't tell me that nothing is wrong. It's a lie and we both know it!"

Trying to keep her calm as she was starting to raise her voice, Kakashi knelt down and packed away her things, not even caring that he looked a little strange slipping a teenage girl's bag over his shoulder. Once he was done, Kakashi stood up straight again, forcing Sakura to look him in the eyes. "Why don't we–"

"No!" she all but screamed at him, leaning further back onto the wall and slapping away his raised hand like it was a venomous snake.

Kakashi frowned. Where was this coming from? Although it didn't hurt, Sakura had never raised a hand against him. It was against school rules for her to do so! That wasn't the part that concerned him, though. It was the look in her eyes, the look that seemed so far away. She wasn't even aware of what she was doing. "Sakura–"

"_Leave me alone_!" Sakura suddenly sobbed, clutching her head and sliding down the wall.

He knew for a fact that everybody had heard _that_.

Kurenai was suddenly popping her head out of the classroom and as the door opened, Kakashi heard the class talking to one another, talking about Sakura. The look on the woman's face was a mixture of shock, wariness and concern. "Kakashi, what's wrong with Sakura?"

Not having any idea how to answer the question, Kakashi simply ignored her and knelt down in front of Sakura. The girl was trembling, her eyes squeezed shut and her head in her hands as she sobbed loudly. What was going on? What had been the cause of this sudden mood swing? Lightly, Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder, but he immediately let go of her when he felt her entire body tense, as he saw her close in on herself even further.

"Kurenai–sensei, what's–"

"Get back in your seats, all of you!" Kurenai snapped at her class, giving both Sakura and Kakashi a concerned look before entering the room once again, shutting the door behind her and biting her lip with worry.

* * *

><p><em>It was almost five in the morning and yet Sakura had only just returned home. She was limping, her body was bruised, cut and bleeding and she had had to all but drag herself home. <em>

_The lights were all off and her parents' cars were both gone, which told her that they had either left early for work or didn't even come home.__ Unless the cars were in the garage, of course.__ Whatever the reason, Sakura was grateful. She couldn't risk waking them up, not looking like this. They would jump to conclusions; they would judge her and yell at her. Sakura wasn't sure she could handle something like that, not now and maybe not ever._

_When the door was locked and bolted and Sakura had finally made it to her bedroom, not even bothering to switch the light on, her resolve broke and she fell to her knees._

_Her insides shook with each sob as her hands gripped at her ruined dress, all but tearing it from her body, which left her feeling quite surprised that she even had any strength left, since she was feeling so weak. Her eyes continued to pour tears down her cheeks until they stung and burned, until dehydration kicked in, but even when she thought she had done crying, Sakura continued to cry and it felt like she was dying with each tear. Clenching her fists tightly, she slammed them into the wooden floor until her knuckles burned, until they split, cracked and bled. Between her hysterical sobs, she coughed from trying to take deep, pathetic breaths. She screamed her desperation, her pain and her sadness until she couldn't even whisper, until she couldn't even make a sound._

_The pain was too much and it felt like it was killing her.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Eventually, the trembling eased up slightly and when Sakura slowly released the hold on her hair, lifting her head to look around the hallway, Kakashi sighed with relief, only to tense when Sakura's eyes snapped to his, wide and scared.<p>

"K–Kakashi?"

"Come on, we'll go to my office."

She stood on shaking limbs and hesitantly, Kakashi reached out to help her stand and walk. Thankfully, this time, Sakura didn't flinch away from him, if anything, she seemed grateful and had no problem with leaning on him, with keeping a tight hold of him.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he guided her towards his office.

She was still trembling and had a thin layer of sweat covering her body as she raised a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

Once they were inside the office, Kakashi sat her down and opened the window behind the sofa a crack, letting a soft breeze enter the room and cooling down the girl, who still looked rather shaken up. A soft frown settled on her features, like she was trying to remember what had happened. "We were talking in class… about a m–mistake that I had made…" Kakashi nodded, grabbing a bottle of water out of the miniature fridge under his desk and handing it to her. She took it gratefully, uncapping it and taking a large gulp before reluctantly continuing. "…we left the class, but then… I–I don't remember what happened."

He knew she was lying. He could tell by the way she was suddenly avoiding eye contact and how her hold tightened on the bottle. However, whilst he knew that he should make Sakura talk about it, Kakashi didn't want her to have another episode such as that. Yes, he would be more prepared for it this time (even though he should be prepared _all_ of the time), but it would still be a strain on her body and mind, which would be pretty dangerous due to her condition, her illness. "I believe you may have had a panic attack, Sakura." at her startled look, he sat down beside her, softening his tone somewhat to a comforting one. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been, although you did become rather distressed and wouldn't let me help you."

"W–What do you mean?"

"Well," Kakashi leaned back in his seat slightly, his eyebrows knitting together, "I put my hand on your shoulder, but you completely tensed up, almost like…" For a moment, he seemed to be thinking his words over carefully, like he wasn't even sure if he should say them, before sitting up straight again, looking her in the eye. "It was a little like how Gaara reacts to being touched."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Did I attack you?"

He shook he head, giving her a small, unseen smile. The only reason she could tell that he was smiling was because of the way his eyes creased. "You only tensed up, kind of like how Gaara does. You didn't get angry, you just tried to get away from me."

She looked down at the ground, once again refusing to make eye contact. "…Oh."

"So what did you want to speak about, Sakura?"

"It doesn't matter now." Sakura told him a little too quickly. "I'll be fine."

Again, Kakashi could tell that she was lying.

Sakura was _not_ going to be fine.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Since you were all so generous with your reviews last night, I decided to update again! You must think I have no life, hahaha. Yeah... I don't have a life. But I _do_ love updating! :-) **

**So, I gave you all quite a few clues in this chapter! If you haven't worked them out, though, then you're just going to have to wait. It will all be revealed soon enough but for now, it's just going to be little things like in this chapter.**

**OH! One of my absolute favourite characters will be coming into the story next chapter. Originally, they weren't going to be a part of it, but meh. I love him!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	15. I Will Always Be Here To Listen

**Chapter 15 – I Will Always Be Here To Listen**

It had been almost a month since her panic attack at school. For a couple of days people had watched her more than what they usually did, just waiting for her to snap like wild animals waiting for their prey. It was so unnerving.

She and Sasuke were once again talking, although he seemed more wary of her now, watching her just as closely as the others. He had kissed her once or twice, but hadn't made any move to go further than that. Sakura couldn't blame him, to be honest. The way she had acted after their first time together in months would be enough to put anybody off. That didn't mean she didn't want him though. No, she wanted him, wanted him to make her forget everything.

As well as that, she had grown even closer to Gaara. He was the only one who wasn't treating her like glass, like she was going to break at just the smallest of things. Maybe she_ was_ going to break, but Sakura still didn't like to be treated that way. She didn't think that anybody liked being treated such a way. It was humiliating, degrading. Yes, Sakura knew that they all cared about her, but still.

During the past month, her mood had been going from bad to worse and tonight, it was just so much worse.

It had been a whole year since that night, since the night that had changed everything.

Sakura couldn't even bring herself to move or get out of bed, so she was silently surprised as she managed to sit up and stare around her room with empty eyes. It was like she wasn't even in control of her own actions, like she was simply watching from afar.

For the past week or so, Mebuki had been watching Sakura closely, also remembering what had happened. Only, Mebuki didn't know what had happened on _this_ night last year, she was remembering what happened afterwards, what Sakura had done.

She didn't want to be in this house, especially not tonight. Sakura wasn't sure as to where she was going, but as she stood up and pulled on a pair of boots, she found that she didn't care.

* * *

><p>A groan escaped his lips as Sasuke tried to ignore the urge to close his eyes. He was so tired! Practice had gone on a lot longer than he had expected and not only that, but he had stayed at Naruto's house a lot longer than he had originally planned – he hadn't even wanted to go in the first place. However, Sasuke had learned before that saying no to Kushina was like saying no to a hungry lion. The woman was as violent as Sakura, or as violent as Sakura <em>used <em>to be.

It hadn't even been Naruto who invited him over, it had been his parents. They had wanted to talk to them both to see how things were going, but the two boys had known all along they were really asking about Sakura. It became even more obvious when they heard that Naruto still wasn't speaking to Sakura, since Kushina had started to yell at the blond whilst Minato had shook his head sadly, as though he was disappointed with his own son. However, when they learned that Sasuke was speaking to her once again, they had looked relieved.

What was he supposed to make of that? What did it mean? He had absolutely no idea.

So it was safe to say that Sasuke was well and truly worn out and trying to figure out what was going on with Sakura was just wearing him out even further. It was obviously something serious – it would have to be if _Minato_ was involved – but what could it be?

Whilst Minato and Kushina had looked pleased about his answer, Naruto had frowned before storming off, which was why Sasuke was driving home right now. The blond hadn't come back, which more or less told the Uchiha that they had fallen out, _again_. You would think with all their arguments and falling outs that they were an old married couple.

Sasuke shuddered as the image of him married to Naruto entered his mind.

Well, at least he now knew what to think of if he didn't want to have a cold shower.

As he turned onto the road that led to his house, Sasuke slowed down considerably. It was too risky in the dark to drive as fast as he usually did. Since the area around his home wasn't all that popular and only those who lived on their road or visitors came by, there weren't many street lights. People had complained about it, but apparently to add more electricity around the woods would destroy the nature–view or something of the sort. Sasuke didn't really care to be honest.

He was just a few minutes away from his house when a head of pink hair came into view. It was only because of his headlights that he had even seen her! What the hell was Sakura doing sitting in the road? If he hadn't seen her, he would have hit her with his car! Slamming down hard on his brakes, Sasuke cursed. What annoyed and confused him even further was the fact that she was staring at the woods, her eyes seeming detached as she did so. She didn't even blink or flinch as his car skidded to a stop only a few feet away from her!

He was quick to get out of his car, anxious to see if she had been harmed or anything of the sort. However, just as Sasuke went to speak, to ask her what had happened, Sakura started to talk.

"It was here." she whispered softly, her eyes still watching the woods unseeingly.

Sasuke frowned as he looked away from Sakura and followed her line of sight. "What was here?"

"It happened here." her voice was still a whisper, still emotionless.

"What happened here?" Sasuke asked more firmly. He was beginning to feel uneasy as he looked back and forth from the unfocused look in Sakura's eyes, to the woods that at one point in their lives, everyone tried to avoid going near. The way Sakura was talking, the way her eyes seemed to never blink, in all honesty, it was beginning to creep him out. What the hell was she talking about?

Without fully turning his back to the woods, Sasuke moved forward and knelt down beside Sakura. Now that he was closer, he could see her shivering, he could see the goose bumps on her arms and legs. However, what made it even weirder was that she didn't even seem to feel it.

"Why did you come out without a jacket?" Sasuke huffed in annoyance before looking at her face warily. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Suddenly, it seemed as though she had snapped back to reality as tears started to fall from her eyes. Sakura looked up at Sasuke and he felt his stomach twist at the desperation he could see in her eyes. It only made him feel more uneasy when he spotted the pained, haunted and lost look.

"I can't go back there." Sakura whispered, still not seeming able to raise her voice. "I can't go home. Please, _please,_ Sasuke don't make me go back there. Not tonight."

He frowned. Why didn't she want to go home? Why was she reacting so strongly to just the mentioning of going home? Once again, Sasuke watched her warily. With a sigh, he stood up and removed his jacket before holding out his hand to Sakura. "Itachi's in, but he won't mind if you stay over for the night."

The pained smile that graced Sakura's features felt like he was being stabbed in the gut and as she took his hand he once again frowned because of how cold she felt. Without saying another word, Sasuke pulled her to her feet before putting his jacket over her shoulders. Just as he was about to get in his car, however, a small hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him back to face her.

"Thank you," she told him, her eyes still flowing with tears.

It only took a couple of minutes before they were outside of his house. Sasuke waited patiently for Sakura, but each moment that passed, he found himself becoming more and more uneasy at the look in her eyes. It was becoming even more obvious that she was hiding something, but what could she be hiding? Why couldn't she go home? Had she fallen out with her parents? Thinking of parents… Mebuki had once told him something… something that at the time, made absolutely no sense to Sasuke. She had told him to watch out for Sakura, to make sure she didn't do anything stupid or anything she might regret. What did she mean by that?

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha looked up at the smooth voice as he shut the front door behind him and Sakura. He wasn't surprised to see Itachi there. After all, he was due home four hours ago. Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement, but when he looked up once again, he frowned at the look his brother was giving Sakura. His brother had always cared about Sakura as though she was his little sister, but to openly show his concern for her? It was just strange.

"What happened?" Itachi asked, stepping forward to get a better look at her.

Sasuke once again frowned as he shrugged and looked at Sakura, who was staring at the floor emptily, her tears still falling silently down her cheeks. "I don't know. I found her sitting on the road opposite the woods like this."

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction, but Sasuke didn't see his reaction. He was too busy watching Sakura. Taking a deep, calming breath, the older Uchiha quickly assessed Sakura, trying to see if she was hurt in anyway. He couldn't see much, but it was obvious the girl was in distress. It was obvious that something was bothering her, _torturing_ her. He could see it in her eyes.

"Sasuke," Itachi spoke in his usual, calm voice. "Go run Sakura–san a hot bath. We have no idea how long she was outside tonight and with it due to snow any day now, she will need warming. Until then she can sit in front of the fire."

It was more than obvious that Sasuke didn't want to leave Sakura, but as soon as Itachi glared at his younger brother, he huffed with annoyance and left to do as he was told.

Almost hesitantly, Itachi stepped forward. He watched for any signs of fear, of pain, but there were none. There was absolutely no emotion on Sakura's face right at that moment besides her tears. Even then they seemed to be falling of their own accord, as though she had no control over them and it seemed like Sakura had no idea she was even crying.

"Sakura–san?"

No answer.

He frowned at the lack of answer. Sakura had never ignored him before.

"Sakura." Itachi spoke as quietly and softly as possible, which honestly wasn't too hard. "Would you like some tea?"

Finally, Sakura looked up at Itachi before looking around and frowning. He wasn't too sure what to think about the look of confusion, unease and sadness that suddenly filled her eyes. It was as though she had no idea how she got there. But then again, Sasuke had said he _found_ her like this, so did that mean she was too out of it to realise somebody had put her in their car? The thought made Itachi frown slightly. What if it hadn't been Sasuke who found her? What if it had been someone who would have hurt her?

Even though he hadn't seen her in a while, Itachi still cared for Sakura. It would be hard not to after growing up with the girl. When they were younger, she, Sasuke and Naruto had always followed him around. They had always looked up to him and asked him to help them with things. Naruto and Sasuke would ask him to help them train or practice sports whereas Sakura would ask for his help with studies or playing guitar. Sometimes, she simply stayed with him because she enjoyed his company and after a while, he started to enjoy hers, too. Then, when his and Sasuke's parents had died not too long ago, Sakura had been there for not only Sasuke, but for him too. She had told him that even though he didn't seem upset, she could see through his mask. Sakura had then gone on to tell him that even though he was five years older than her and most likely only thought of her as a kid, he could always speak to her about anything.

So to him, this girl was like a younger sister.

"Sakura," Itachi sighed, "Sasuke is upstairs." When she looked up at him, he gave her a serious look. "What happened tonight, Sakura?"

Biting her lip, Sakura looked down at the ground as more tears started to fall. How could she lie to Itachi? He had always been there for her! But could she really tell him these things? Could she tell him her secrets, things she hadn't even told Tsunade, Kakashi or her parents?

"Nothing happened _tonight_." Sakura spoke quietly as Itachi steered her towards the living room.

Itachi glanced at her as he placed her in front of the fire and grabbed the throw that was on the couch. "Then why were you sat on the road, crying?" When she didn't answer, Itachi placed the throw over her shoulders and sat beside her. He watched her expression carefully as she watched the fire. "Why are you crying _now_?"

"I…" Sakura whimpered, her eyes closing tightly. "I…"

He leaned forward a fraction, his eyes narrowing at the raw pain he had seen in Sakura's eyes before she closed them. "What happened to you, Sakura?"

Before he could even blink, Sakura started sobbing. It wasn't like her previous tears when Sasuke brought her into their home. No, her breathing came so quickly that Itachi thought she was having a panic attack. Her entire body was shaking and she gripped a tight hold of the throw in her fists as her eyes squeezed closed. Like earlier, there were still tears, but these ones came much quicker, much thicker and much more alarming. However, the thing that worried him the most was when her breathing turned into wheezing and coughing as she tried to take deep, pathetic breaths in between each sob.

"Sakura, it's okay." Itachi spoke as calmly as possible.

His eyes were wide as he moved forward, rubbing her back in circular motions to try and soothe her. Itachi had never seen her like this before. Sure, he had seen her when she threw tantrums, when she had cried and got mad, but never had he ever seen her this hysterical. Never had he ever seen her in this much pain.

For the first time ever, Itachi had no idea what to do.

"It's," Sakura wheezed in between coughs, "all," again, there were more desperate breaths, "my fault."

Her hands released the throw she had been holding before clutching at his shirt as she shook with her sobs, as she tried to silence herself by pressing her face into his chest. Nothing worked though and Itachi was growing more concerned by the minute. He was worried she was actually having a panic attack. He was worried that she would make herself sick from her sobbing or knock herself out due to lack of oxygen. His brilliant mind seemed to have come to a screeching halt as he stared down at the top of her head with wide eyes. All Itachi could think was that he _had_ to calm her down.

"Sakura." his voice was smooth, hiding his growing unease and worry. "Calm down. It's okay. Nothing is your fault."

She shook her head. "They all… hate me!" Before he could say anything else, Sakura continued. "They… I… past year… been _so_ hard…" Even though he could barely understand what she was trying to tell him, Sakura still had Itachi's full attention. "…I needed… needed them… they hate me… _I_ hate me…" His eyes widened a fraction as his hold tightened. "…mom and dad… nobody…" Her body increased in shakes and the shaking seemed to affect her voice as it was uneven and trembling. "…it… it hurt so much… still does… I need them… but… but they hate me… it's… it's… all… my fault."

It still made no sense, but Itachi could grasp the meaning:

She needed her friends and her parents, they weren't there and it hurt. Because of the many decisions and things she had chosen or done, Sakura believed they all hated her and for that, she hated herself.

Or at least, that was what he thought she was trying to tell him.

"Itachi." a different voice came.

Itachi looked away from Sakura and over to Sasuke, who was stood in the doorway, frowning and looking as unsure as what his voice sounded.

"Leave us, Sasuke." he didn't mean to sound as harsh as he did.

Sasuke's frown deepened as he looked down at the hysterical Sakura. He had also never seen her in such a state before and honestly, it scared him. "What–"

"Sasuke," Itachi almost growled, "leave us. Go to Sakura's house and ask Mebuki–san to pack a bag of her things – make sure there are enough items for sveral days, a week at most. I will come and find you when you return and once Sakura has calmed down."

Even though he wanted to stay, Sasuke knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially when he had that tone of voice and look in his eyes. With another glance at Sakura, Sasuke looked back at Itachi and nodded once before leaving. He knew for a fact that Itachi would never hurt or upset her.

"Come, Sakura." Itachi said with a firm tone in his voice. "Sasuke has run a bath for you."

She nodded and whilst he lifted her, she held onto Itachi as though he was the only thing keeping her there, keeping her with him. It was like her mind was split in two, one side telling her just to screw it all, to give up and the other half, the half she was fighting to achieve, was telling her to control herself. It was telling her that Itachi and Sasuke were both proud men who disliked weaknesses. She needed to be strong for them, even if it was only a front.

Just as they entered the warm bathroom that felt like heaven to Sakura already, she grabbed Itachi's wrist, sensing that he was about to leave. "Don't go." she whispered, her eyes fixed on the ground as she continued, "I don't… I can't be alone, not tonight."

'_So much for being strong_' she thought tiredly.

Not for the first time that night, Itachi frowned at the look in her eyes that she was trying so hard to hide. Slowly, he nodded and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He could see Sakura's body shaking every couple of minutes, like she was trying to hold back her sobs and he didn't doubt for a second that she was. As he felt the temperature of the water – making sure it wouldn't be too hot for her – Itachi watched her silently as Sakura wrapped her arms around her upper torso before turning to her.

"I won't try anything." he said softly at the wide eyed look in her eyes. "I promise, Sakura. You can trust me."

Tears filled her eyes again before she nodded and looked down at the ground, lowering her arms so that Itachi could help her undress. As he did, his eyes stopped on various marks on her body, never having noticed any of them before, but sensing her discomfort at his staring, he kept his eyes on his hands, not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable than she already seemed to be. However the moment he removed her shirt, his breathing stopped as he felt dread fill his entire body for the first time since his parents' death.

"Y–You said… you said that I could trust you. So _please_, d–don't tell anyone," Sakura whispered, her eyes suddenly looking up into his, "especially not Sasuke."

His eyes stayed locked with what had caught his attention before he eventually pulled them away and continued with undressing her, leaving Sakura in just her boy–cut underwear and bra as he helped her into the bath, neither feeling comfortable with her being completely naked. It would be unbelievably hard to keep Sakura's secret from his brother, but when he looked into her eyes and saw the desperation, he reluctantly nodded.

"I won't breathe a word, Sakura." he told her honestly before filling a jug with water and tilting her head back. A sigh mixed between relief and relaxation escaped her lips as he washed her hair gently. "But know that even if I am not your first choice, I will always be here to listen."

Itachi's eyes saddened as a trail of wetness slipped down the side of her face. He knew it wasn't the bath water for it had come from her eye.

The sight of her tears made a question repeat itself in his mind.

What had happened to Haruno Sakura?

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Before you say that Itachi is OOC, I know he is! Well, actually, I don't. If you think about it, almost his entire life had been a lie, so nobody really knows his true personality and what he'd do for those he cares for (apart from what was shown in the anime and manga, of course). I mean what he'd do for people who _aren't_ related to him. I think that because of his pacifistic nature and being the selfless person that he was, he'd do something like this for those he cares for.  
><strong>

**Also, don't worry! This isn't going to turn into an ItaSaku fic (even if I do love the pairing)! He's just going to be there for Sakura as an older brother and a friend. He may even put Sasuke in his place for those of you who are getting annoyed with him ;-)  
><strong>

**I actually squeal like a fan-girl whenever I get a review from you all! You're honestly the nicest people who've ever reviewed my stories before and I haven't had a single flame.  
><strong>

**Keep trying to guess what happened to Sakura and I'll keep giving you all more clues! ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	16. Look After Her

**Chapter 16 – Look After Her**

His mind was all over the place as Sasuke ran the bath for Sakura. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not make sense of it – of _any_ of it! What the hell had happened? One moment he was driving home and then the next, he finds Sakura sitting in the road, staring at the woods. To make matters worse she seemed to be completely out of it, like she wasn't even fully there!

Adding some bath crème that supposedly helped to relax your muscles to the water, Sasuke's frown deepened.

Had something happened at her house? Was that the reason why she didn't want to go back? It wouldn't really surprise him if Sasuke was completely honest. The first time he went to Sakura's house so that they could do their schoolwork, Mebuki had been pretty unbearable. Not only did she go against Sakura's wishes of giving them some privacy, but she had also bombarded him with questions that made both him and Sakura extremely uncomfortable a week or so after. It didn't help that Sasuke was so tired. Any other day, when he was fully rested, there wouldn't have been a problem with trying to figure everything out. But right now, after such a long day, Sasuke was wiped and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

But… he couldn't go to bed, at least not until he knew that Sakura was okay.

Once the bath was filled, Sasuke left the bathroom and made his way towards the living room. However, as he stood in the doorway to the room, what he saw and heard stopped him, made his heart leap right into his throat and caused his stomach to twist so sharply that he felt as though he was about to throw up.

"…_They hate me… _I_ hate me… mom and dad… nobody… it… it hurt so much… still does… I need them… but… but they hate me… it's… it's… all… my fault._"

Sasuke's breathing all but stopped as his blood ran cold. Why was Sakura crying so hard? Had Itachi done something to cause this… this breakdown? Sasuke flinched at the thought. The word breakdown seemed a little harsh, but he could think of no other word to use that was better suited to the current situation. Not only that, but Sasuke couldn't see Itachi doing anything to upset or harm Sakura, not when he was openly showing how much he cared for her like he was right now.

Right now, Itachi had his arms wrapped around the trembling, hysterical Sakura and his hold only tightened as she continued to cry. The only person the older Uchiha brother had ever showed such affection for was for him, for Sasuke. It had been a couple of years back when their parents had died, when little else could comfort him.

Seeing Sakura in such a way… it really did scare him, but what scared him even more were her words. No, it wasn't her words, it was the way she was saying them. Sakura was speaking like she couldn't keep going, like she was giving up. It was like she was completely worn out and tired of everything.

"Itachi." Sasuke finally spoke up, not liking were his thoughts were taking him.

Itachi looked away from Sakura and over to Sasuke, who was stood in the doorway, frowning and looking as unsure as what his voice sounded.

"Leave us, Sasuke."

Sasuke knew that Itachi didn't mean to sound as harsh as it did, but he couldn't help but deepen his frown as he looked down at the hysterical Sakura. The state she was still in was making him uneasy, especially since she was refusing to look at him, instead choosing to keep her face pressed firmly into Itachi's chest. "What–"

"Sasuke," Itachi almost growled, "leave us. Go to Sakura's house and ask Mebuki–san to pack a bag of her things – make sure there are enough items for several days, a week at most. I will come and find you when you return and once Sakura has calmed down."

Even though he wanted to stay, Sasuke knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially when he had that tone of voice and look in his eyes. With another glance at Sakura, Sasuke looked back at Itachi and nodded once before leaving. He knew for a fact that Itachi would never hurt or upset her.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean she's at your house?" Mebuki demanded angrily. "Sakura is upstairs in her bedroom and has been there all night!"<p>

Sasuke sighed impatiently as he rubbed his tired eyes. They were really beginning to sting due to his exhaustion. "She isn't in her bedroom, Mebuki. I found Sakura in the middle of the road whilst I was driving home, but when I told her I would bring her here, she begged me not to. Itachi said that it is fine if she stays with us for a couple of days."

For a moment, when she looked away, it had looked as though Mebuki was about to break down into tears, but she quickly pushed the tears away and looked back at Sasuke, who was watching her silently. "I will need to speak about this with Itachi." Mebuki told Sasuke seriously, her eyes narrowing when Sasuke frowned. "I'm not saying that I don't believe you, Sasuke, I am just saying that there are a few things that Itachi may need to know, things that I can't explain to you."

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What things?"

"It's not my place to tell you, Sasuke, it is Sakura's." Running a hand through her hair, Mebuki sighed. "The only reason I will be telling Itachi is because he will need to keep a close eye on Sakura." she paused briefly for a moment, a look of uncertainty flitting across her features before she once again sighed. "I will go and get some things for her. You may as well go home unless you walked here, then I will give you a lift."

Sasuke nodded once. "I walked here."

He had needed to clear his head after seeing Sakura in such a state. Not only that, but they more or less lived next door to each other. Sure, there was quite a distance between their houses, but they lived on the same road. There wasn't really any point in driving such a distance and not only that, but Sasuke was too tired to drive. He would only be putting himself at risk and anyone else if they happened to be on the road, although he very much doubted that last part.

"Very well," Mebuki replied, "just go and wait in the living room."

When Sasuke once again nodded before walking away, Mebuki headed towards Sakura's room, sighing as she did so.

* * *

><p>"Where is Sakura?" Mebuki asked Itachi as he offered her a cup of tea, which she gratefully accepted.<p>

With a barely even audible sigh, the Uchiha took a seat opposite Mebuki at the table, his usual gracefulness seeming to have disappeared as he did so. His posture wasn't as great as it usually was and it actually looked as though Itachi was slouching. "Right at this moment, Sakura is sleeping in the guest room next to my own, Mebuki–san. She was extremely tired and had worn herself out."

Worry flashed through Mebuki's eyes as she looked down at the cup in her hands, suddenly wishing it was something stronger than tea. "Maybe staying here for a few days will be good for her." she mumbled before nodding faintly. "Yes, maybe getting out of the house will do her good." Then, Mebuki looked up at Itachi. "I came here because there are some things that you will need to know."

"And they are?"

"Please know, Itachi, that you have my complete trust, especially since you have always looked out for Sakura." she told Itachi softly. "I've known you since you were just a child and you have become such a kind–hearted young man, a man that both of your parents will be proud of." Mebuki smiled softly when Itachi lowered his gaze slightly before looking back up at her. "Just… please take care of my daughter. This isn't something that can be passed off as unimportant, so I need you to keep an eye on Sakura. She… she…"

Seeing that Mebuki couldn't finish her sentence and was becoming quite distressed, Itachi nodded once. "I already know, Mebuki–san."

The woman closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "It will be a whole year since that night in seventeen days, which may be the reasoning behind her actions." As Mebuki opened her eyes again, she gave Itachi a serious look as he stared back in understanding. "Sakura needs to be watched closely, but try not to make her uncomfortable whilst doing so – it will only make her lash out." Lifting a hand and running it through her hair, Mebuki sighed before placing her elbow on the table and leaning into her hand, her eyes once again closing. "I could tell you what to expect, but honestly, even Sakura herself doesn't know what to expect. She is unpredictable and with a big enough push, she can also be dangerous, not only to herself, but to others as well."

Finally looking back up at Itachi, she stared at him with concerned eyes whilst he looked at her with a minute frown. "If it becomes too much for you to handle, Itachi, don't think twice about calling me. I will also be grateful if you can keep me updated on how she is doing and just…" Mebuki bit her lip softly before releasing it. "Try to do whatever you can to make her happy or comfortable." There was a short pause before Mebuki leaned down and grabbed her bag. When she placed it onto her lap and dug through it, she pulled out a bottle that had Itachi raising a questioning eyebrow. "Make sure Sakura takes _one_ of these _every_ day after her breakfast. You may have to force her to eat her food as well as take her medication, but it needs to be done and even though at the time Sakura may not like it and it won't be pleasant for either of you, she will understand."

Itachi's frown deepened as Mebuki handed him the bottle of medication. It had Sakura's name on it and even though he was no doctor, he knew what the medication was for and realising this, Itachi's eyes widened. "Sakura is–"

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

At the sound of the soft, tired voice, both Itachi and Mebuki turned to look at a frowning Sakura as she stood in the doorway. The sight of Sakura caused Mebuki's eyes to sadden, but she did well to hide her reaction. Sakura was currently half asleep, her eyes squinting as she rubbed them and she was wearing a shirt that looked much too big for her – Mebuki presumed it was one of Sasuke's or possibly even Itachi's. It didn't look as though she had anything on underneath the shirt, but Mebuki didn't want to ask just in case she didn't. Besides, it was keeping her covered and reached mid–thigh and Sakura seemed comfortable enough.

"I only came to bring you your stuff." Mebuki replied gently, knowing just how irritable Sakura could be when she was tired. "Itachi said that you're welcome to stay here for a couple of days, just until you feel a little better."

Sakura nodded slowly as she stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. When she walked further into the kitchen, her eyes narrowed as she saw what Itachi was holding, but at the look in his eyes, Sakura relaxed. There was no judgement in his eyes, just silent understanding. "Thanks."

"There is no need to thank me, Sakura." Itachi gave her a small smile. "You are very much like a sister to me."

Her bottom lip threatened to start trembling again, but Sakura got a hold of herself before it could happen and instead gave him a smile in return.

Mebuki gave Sakura a stern look. "I've packed you a couple of things including your medication, clothes and a couple of other bits that you might need. Oh, I brought your phone too and I will give Itachi the number in case you decide to go out and visit Gaara–kun." Itachi looked over at Sakura questioningly, but her eyes were glued to her mother's. "Remember, you eat your breakfast first and then take the tablet. You need to have a full stomach."

"I know, mom." Sakura sighed as she rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

The woman looked over at Itachi and once again gave him a serious look. "I trust you to look after my daughter, Itachi. It is the only reason why I am allowing this. I know that you're a responsible person and you will do whatever is possible to look after Sakura, you always have done, so please do not make me regret putting my full trust in you."

"You won't." Itachi told her, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "I promise I will look after Sakura."

Sakura looked up at Itachi, her eyes pleading. "Don't let Sasuke know about any of this, Itachi." she whispered softly, although there was a hint of desperation in her voice and features. "I don't… I don't want him to look at me differently or…" shaking her head, Sakura lowered her hands and raised her head completely. "I don't want him to know yet. I'm not… I'm not ready for him to know yet."

Just like earlier, when he had been helping her bathe, Itachi looked torn before he finally nodded. "If that is what you want, Sakura."

"It is." she whispered quietly. "I want them all to forgive me before I let them know. I don't want pity; I just want my friends back."

This time, Mebuki couldn't help but show her sadness as she watched Sakura visibly deflate, like the words she had spoken made her feel heavy. She wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and pull Sakura into a tight hug, but she knew her daughter wouldn't appreciate being pitied. Instead, Mebuki took a deep breath before looking up at the clock. "I should get going, Kazashi will be home by now and is probably wondering where I am." she told them both whilst standing. "Are you okay with staying here, Sakura?"

"Yes." Sakura smiled as she looked up at Itachi and then over to her mother. "I need to get out of the house. It felt…"

At Sakura's grimace, Mebuki's eyes once again saddened. "I know, sweetie." she said softly before walking forward and hugging her. "I expect you to call or text me every day, okay? And don't think that I won't be checking in on you all and making sure you're taking your medication. Oh! Speaking of which, Itachi," Mebuki quickly turned to Itachi, who looked up at her silently, "Sakura has an appointment with Tsunade–sama every Thursday at five in the afternoon. I don't know how long she'll be staying here, or if she'll feel comfortable with you taking her, but because Sakura is under eighteen, somebody must accompany her. You don't have to go into the room with her, just sign her in." Shooting a dry glance in Sakura's direction as Mebuki walked over to the doorway, she continued. "You see, Sakura doesn't like going, so she will try anything and everything to get out of it, which is why somebody must accompany her and sign her in."

"I will make sure Sakura goes, Mebuki–san." Itachi told her seriously. "Just send me the address and I will take her."

Sakura couldn't get a word in as her mother nodded once. "Thank you, Itachi. Oh and before I leave, have you and Sasuke any plans for Christmas day?"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as Itachi thought about it. "No, we were simply going to spend Christmas day here."

"You can't do that!" Sakura sounded incredulous and even offended as she snapped her head to the side to look at Itachi. "You can't spend Christmas here all alone." turning to face a frowning Mebuki, Sakura practically begged, "Mom, please can both Itachi and Sasuke spend Christmas at our house? You always cook way too much food anyway!"

Mebuki nodded, looking equally as unhappy as her daughter did. "Itachi, I must insist. I know for a fact that your mother wouldn't want her sons spending the holidays alone."

Itachi gave them a soft smile, his features looking much younger as he did so. "No, she wouldn't." he agreed before nodding once. "We will be there, thank you."

Both Mebuki and Sakura smiled brightly before they exchanged goodnights and the former left. When she did, Sakura looked over at Itachi but as she did, she glanced at the bottle that was still in his hands. A soft sigh escaped the pink haired teenager's lips as she decided to be truthful. "You will need to keep hold of them." Sakura told Itachi honestly, just as he was about to pass her the medication. "The last time I was in charge of them I… I threw them all away."

There was a moment of silence before Itachi pocketed the tablets and stood. "What time do you usually take them?"

"There's no specific time, I just take one after my breakfast." Sakura bit her lip before looking up at Itachi as he guided her out of the kitchen, switching off the lights as he did so. "What about Sasuke? How am I going to take them without him noticing?"

Looking down at Sakura, Itachi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sakura. Sasuke is always up early and spends at least an hour and a half in the gym that he created in one of the spare rooms. If you are not up by that time, I will wake you up."

Sakura returned his smile before looking over at the front door just as they had been about to go upstairs. "Aren't… aren't you going to lock it?"

At the building worry he could sense and see, Itachi nodded once before walking over to the front door, locking and bolting it as he did so. Usually he kept it unlocked, since hardly anybody lived around these areas and he often had friends coming and going. Not to mention both he and Sasuke were ridiculously light sleepers, especially the former. Just the sound of the front door opening would wake Itachi up. However, if it made Sakura more comfortable, then he would lock it.

"Thanks."

Continuing their walk up the stairs, Itachi suddenly paused, his eye narrowing a fraction. After a couple of moments, he finally spoke. "Where's Sasuke?"

Like Itachi, Sakura also paused before recognition washed over her features. "He's asleep. He didn't even get changed or shut his door either, just simply collapsed on top of his bed."

"Sasuke has been training hard." he stated as they both continued going upstairs. When they reached the guest room next to his bedroom, Itachi gave Sakura another small smile. "Goodnight, Sakura. I will be just next door if you need anything."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks for this, Itachi. You have no idea how grateful I am."

He simply nodded before both entered their own rooms.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Those last couple of lines seem really strange to me for some reason. I mean, it sounds like something you'd hear in a porno or something. Eh, whatever.  
><strong>

**Think of this like a part two to the last chapter, since that's what it pretty much was.**

**Thank you so much to those who keep reviewing! I love receiving and reading your reviews.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	17. Blondie's Revenge

**Chapter 17 – Blondie's Revenge**

_It was too hot, too crowded and too noisy and it was all making her head spin._

_She wasn't too sure, but Sakura was certain that it was coming up to her fifth hour of simply walking. What's her destination? Even she didn't know such things. All Sakura wanted was to find something or someone to keep her grounded, to take away the pain._

_Despite her inner turmoil, on the outside she looked cold, empty. Unlike before, nobody gave her a second glance and instead went on with their days. The only people who _did_ give her a second glance were people who were looking at her with pity, with disgust. They were looking down their noses at her and whilst that would have sent Sakura into a fit of rage before, she couldn't even bring herself to bat an eyelash. It was like she was numb in some ways, but in others… in others, it was like the pain was excruciating. Her body ached with not only hunger and exhaustion, but from what had happened. It felt like she was burning up, like she was sitting way too close to a fire, but no matter what Sakura tried, she couldn't cool herself down. She had tried wearing fewer clothes, tried sitting in front of a fan and had even taken a cold shower, but nothing worked for long and it was beginning to really get to her._

_To say that she was scared would be an understatement. She was the kind of girl who _needed_ comfort, who _needed_ somebody to be there for her and help her. Yes, Sakura was independent in some ways, but sometimes, she needed somebody to help her, to guide her._

_But she now had nobody and there was nobody else to blame but herself._

_Why the hell did she have to go and mess everything up? Why did she have to be such a disgusting, worthless and pathetic slut? God, why was she so damn useless?_

_Clutching a hand to her head, Sakura leaned against the wall as her emotionless expression finally broke and her tears started to fall. However, like before, nobody paid attention to her. You see, in a city as big as Konoha, you tend to see things such as crying girls often so nobody questioned it anymore, especially since most of them were crying about splitting up with their boyfriends or some other petty drama such as that._

_There wasn't anything that Sakura wouldn't give for her problems to be as minute as that._

_She held her head in her hands and slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground, her knees bent and pressed up to her chest as she sobbed. Before now Sakura would have cringed at just the thought of sitting on a dirty sidewalk in the middle of the day and crying in front of people who didn't care, who walked by without a second thought or glance, but now she couldn't bring herself to care in the slightest._

_Nobody cared for her, not even her best friends, Ino and Naruto. Not even the boy she had been seeing for over a year, Sasuke. Not a single one of any of her friends wanted anything to do with her. They all thought of her as heartless, as somebody who deserved everything she got. The thought caused her heart to clench painfully and before she knew it, Sakura was crying even harder. She just wanted her friends back. She wanted the person she used to be back._

"_Excuse me, are you okay?"_

_At first, Sakura didn't think that whoever was speaking was speaking to _her_, but when she raised her head from her hands and looked up, she saw a man standing in front of her, his eyebrows furrowed as he took in her pitiful state. There wasn't anything unusual about the man and he looked pretty average, his hair was dark and spiked, matching his equally dark eyes, but he was dressed like an important businessman, like he mattered to somebody._

_When Sakura could only stare at him, the man knelt down before her. "Do you need to call somebody?"_

_Finally, Sakura found her voice as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. "Even if I did, they wouldn't answer or care."_

"_You have nobody at all who cares for you?"_

_Usually such a question would have immediately sent her mind into overdrive, trying to figure out why he would want to know such a thing. However right now, her mind was completely screwed up and all she could think was that this was the first person in who knows how long to show concern for her. A total stranger had seen what her own parents had not. "No."_

"_Come on," he told her, holding out his hand, "I'll buy you lunch."_

_And so she went with him._

* * *

><p>Sakura shot up in bed, her heart beating erratically, sweat covering her body and her hand pressed to her mouth to stop herself from crying out.<p>

It wasn't the worst dream she had ever had, but it was one of the most painful to remember. At the time leaving with that man had seemed like one of the best things to have ever happened to her. He had been so kind and he looked after her, but it was only hours later when everything changed.

Quickly shoving the thoughts from her mind, Sakura threw the covers from her body and stood up on unsteady legs, trying to keep the contents of her stomach down. However, she was momentarily startled to find that she wasn't in her bedroom, that this room didn't even belong in her house. Where was she? Her hand pressed even tighter against her lips when a whimper of fear escaped her. She couldn't be back in that place, could she? She had gotten away from there!

It was then that the Uchiha emblem caught her eye, making Sakura close her eyes and exhale a sigh of relief. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't calm her heartbeat as it pounded hard and fast.

Remembering that Itachi's room was next door, Sakura moved as quietly as possible out of her room and down the hall. She couldn't be alone, not tonight, not after a dream such as that and since it wouldn't be appropriate for her to share a bed with Itachi, Sakura went to the one place she knew she would be accepted.

She went to Sasuke's room.

However, unlike the last time she had walked by his room, Sasuke's door was now closed and there was the sound of movement inside. Had he woken up? That was even better. At least now she could talk to him and maybe he'd even comfort her.

Knocking softly on his door and waiting for him to say come in, Sakura entered his room and watched him silently as he pulled his shirt over his head, dumping it in the corner with his other laundry. When she didn't speak, Sasuke turned around, only to pause at the sight of Sakura, since he had thought it would be Itachi coming to speak to him about what had happened earlier, like he said he would.

"Is that Itachi's shirt?"

Sakura looked down at herself and noticed what he was probably thinking. She was wearing one of Itachi's old shirts that reached mid–thigh and the sleeves covered most of her hands, completely drowning her figure. It probably looked like she was wearing nothing underneath it. "It's not like that," she whispered hoarsely before clearing her throat, "I had nothing else to wear after my bath."

Seeming to find her answer acceptable, Sasuke nodded once before looking her over. "So what do you want?"

There was the sound of a deep breath being taken before Sakura moved forward and once she was right in front of Sasuke, she took a hold of his hands in her own, staring down at them to avoid eye contact. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

"You're not staying in here." Sasuke told her quietly as he pulled his hands out of hers. "Just go back to the guest room, Sakura."

Tears filled her eyes at his words. Why wasn't he letting her stay? Why was he pushing her away again? Did he know? Had Itachi broken his promise and told Sasuke? Or was it her mother who had told him? Didn't he want her anymore? "S–Sasuke." her voice had a slightly desperate tone to it as she looked up at him. "_Please_. I can't be alone."

He shook his head. "Get out."

It was then that her tears finally started to fall, but Sasuke didn't even seem bothered by them. However as her tears dripped from her face and onto his wooden floor, certain words drifted to her, telling her not to cry and show weakness. It was with those words that Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. If Sasuke was surprised by her sudden change, he didn't say anything and instead stared at her silently.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you."

And with that, she walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. However to Sasuke, it may as well have been slammed.

On the other side of the door, Sakura pressed her hand to her mouth once again to silence her ragged breaths and whimpers as she walked down the hallway and passed Itachi's room. She knew how much of a light sleeper he was and if he heard her crying, there was no doubt in her mind that he would wake up.

When she was downstairs in the living room, Sakura turned on the television and turned it to a reasonable volume that hopefully wouldn't wake Itachi or keep Sasuke awake. Once she had, she leaned back into the sofa, trying her hardest not to focus too hard on the shadows of the room. Sometimes her mind liked to play tricks on her, liked to make her think that she was being watched, or that she was being stalked by some unseen predator. She knew none of this was true but it still had her heart racing as well as her breathing.

It wasn't even five minutes later that a figure appeared in the doorway, making her jump at his sudden appearance.

"Sakura, what are you doing awake at this time?"

Her eyes lowered as Itachi entered the living room, immediately grabbing the throw he had used earlier that night and wrapping it around her. His presence brought her comfort, just like it always had. When they were kids it was always Itachi she went to first about the bullies picking on her and about any other problem she had. The memory of Itachi standing up for her against the bullies made Sakura smile softly as he sat down beside her. Itachi wanted her. He had always cared for her and would always be there to keep her grounded. He probably wasn't even aware of how relieved and happy that made her.

"Have you been crying again?" he asked quietly as he tilted her face up so he could see her better.

A frown settled on her features as Sakura looked up at him. "I–I had a nightmare and I didn't want to be alone." she whispered. "I know it sounds… it sounds pathetic, but I just didn't. So I went to Sasuke's room… but he told me to get out and go back to bed." her eyes lowered once again as she felt ashamed of how pathetic she had become. Where had the strong girl she once had been gone? "I didn't want to be alone, so I came down here to watch television. The sound usually helps calm me a little."

Like earlier, there was no judgement in Itachi's eyes, just silent understanding that made Sakura feel so grateful for having him there with her. "You could have come to me, Sakura." he told her gently. "I told you earlier that I will always be here for you."

"It wouldn't have been appropriate." she retorted, her head shaking ever so slightly. "It wouldn't have been right for me to sleep in your bed."

"We have shared a bed before." Itachi smiled softly whilst wiping away the remains of her tears. "And I wouldn't have minded. Both you and I know that there would be nothing sexual about sleeping in the same bed."

Slowly and unsurely, Sakura nodded in agreement. Indeed they had shared beds before, back when they were children when they had gone camping together or even when they had just needed a nap. Even though Itachi was five years older than herself, he had still been a great friend to her back then and she was so happy that he was still there for her. "Will you stay here with me?" Sakura asked quietly, looking back up at the television. "I kind of like this show."

With a smirk, Itachi nodded once before leaning back against the sofa and pulling Sakura against him.

* * *

><p>Ino glared at her reflection as she was just about to start on her makeup.<p>

Was it true, did Sasuke really love Sakura? It had been rumoured that the two were seen together and that he had apparently forgiven her, but was any of it true? Sakura had no right to be forgiven! Not after all the hurt she had caused, after all the hearts she had broken!

As Ino remembered that night, tears filled her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>Having so many outfits was extremely annoying sometimes. <em>

_Even though she had more than enough outfits for every single day of the next two years, Ino had nothing to wear. She couldn't find anything to wear for tomorrow night!_

_She had planned it all out. First, she was going to invite Sasuke over for dinner. During that time, Ino had decided to wear her casual outfit – or as casual as her casual outfits could be. Then, she would excuse herself for a couple of minutes and quickly change into something a little more… comfortable. Ino smirked at the thought of her new lingerie. It wouldn't be her first time, but she wanted it to be just as special. She wanted Sasuke to remember every little detail just like Ino knew she would. _

_When she was changed, she planned on seducing Sasuke… or should she tell him about her feelings first? _

"_Ugh!" Ino growled as she climbed into the back of the car. "This is what happens when you don't have the right outfit – everything starts to fall apart!"_

_The driver climbed into the front seat, ignoring Ino's growling and complaints as he drove her to her friend's house. It wasn't unusual for Yamanaka Ino to be annoyed about something and it also wasn't unusual for her to go straight to Sakura's house when she was feeling that way. In fact it happened quite often._

_The journey was short thanks to it being quite late. Around this hour and around Sakura's neighbourhood, it was always quiet since her house was one of very few that lived on a single road across from some woods. In Ino's personal opinion, she had never liked those woods – it always felt as though someone was watching her. Even as a child she had avoided and feared them, especially after Kiba's creepy ghost stories._

_As Ino's car passed a certain house, butterflies filled her stomach and she had to stop herself from squealing. Sakura had no idea how lucky she was to live on the same road as Sasuke! Well, when she says road, Ino means that there was at least a mile or two in between their houses. The houses on this particular road were spread out, giving the large mansions a lot of room for a decently sized garden. Ino wasn't too sure on what the exact measurements were, but she did know that it was big enough for a pool party holding at least two hundred people. In other words, the people who lived on this road were all wealthy._

_Ino adored Sakura's home. There was always a fully__–__stocked bar and refrigerator among many other things and it was just… there was just something about Sakura's house that made Ino feel welcome. Perhaps it was the way Mebuki always greeted her as though she was her own daughter? She didn't have time to think about such things as she got out of the car. The lights were off downstairs, but the light in Sakura's bedroom was on and seeing it, Ino sighed with relief as she grabbed the spare key hidden under the plant pot and unlocked the door._

_There was no welcoming feeling like the many other times she had arrived, but Ino pushed the thought away as she quietly closed the door and walked towards the stairs. It seemed Sakura was the only one home tonight. _

_As Ino reached the hallway that led to Sakura's room, her brows furrowed. There was a strange noise… it almost sounded as though Sakura was sobbing and hitting something. Ino's eyes widened as she quickened her pace. What was wrong with Sakura? Why did it sound like she couldn't breathe?_

_When she arrived, the door to Sakura's room was wide open and showing her something Ino wished she had never seen._

_There, laying on top of the boy Ino loved, was Sakura. Only, they weren't simply lying together. No, the two of them were as naked as the day they were born and Sasuke's arms were holding her almost lovingly as Sakura rode him. Ino immediately placed the sobbing noises as Sakura crying out with pleasure since now, all the pink haired girl seemed to be doing was crying out. There were also a few grunts coming from underneath her, making Ino's stomach turn._

_However, no matter how much the sight pained her, Ino found that she couldn't turn away. As much as she wanted to leave, or attack Sakura, all she could do was stand there in shock._

_Then, the second Sakura's moans began to rise in pitch and her hips, as well as the ones underneath hers, moved much more desperately, Ino's eyes filled with tears. The blonde covered her mouth as she watched Sasuke flip them over so that he was on top and in control, as she heard the boy she loved whispering to her, telling Sakura words Ino had always wanted to hear. However, when he said them, she was hoping it would be _her_ who he said them to, not her best friend. His words seemed to be all Sakura needed as her body started to move uncontrollably and her moans grew louder._

_Suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, Ino ran._

* * *

><p>Now, Ino regretted running.<p>

She wished she had stayed there to kick Sakura's ass.

Ino glared at her reflection. Why would he choose Sakura over her? Sure, he had known Sakura for almost his entire life and the two were close, but she was _Sakura_! Until she had seen the two of them together, Ino had believed that Sasuke thought of her as annoying and nothing more.

After Sakura had left to who knows where, as far as Ino was aware, Sasuke hadn't been with another girl. The most he was seen doing with a girl was talking – and even that was a rare thing to happen! He had also been much quieter and much moodier after she left. His patience had grown ridiculously thin and at one point, he had been suspended for hitting a teacher. After a while though, he seemed to calm down again and went back to his usual, brooding self. Ino suspected that his older brother, Itachi, had something to do with that.

His actions made Ino look at herself in disgust. Wasn't she pretty enough? Was she too blonde, too pale? Was her skin not clear enough? Then, Sakura's actions made Ino's entire body fill with anger and hatred. She had been her best friend and she had known about her feelings towards Sasuke! How could Sakura do that to her? Ino's fists clenched as she snarled.

Yes, she had already had her revenge by recording the two of them together and sending it anonymously to Naruto, but it didn't seem like enough. It hadn't been straight away that she had recorded them; it had been when she got home as it wasn't until then that she felt the overwhelming need to ruin Sakura. So, after ringing a couple of people, they had hacked into Sakura's computer and recorded her via her webcam. Once that was done, they sent it to Naruto. Upsetting him… whilst it had made her feel a little guilty, Ino couldn't bring herself to regret it. It was because of the fight between him and Sasuke that Sakura left, which had been amazing news to Ino.

What about now, though? Sakura had returned and from what Ino had heard, she was back in Sasuke's life, which just would not do. No matter how hard she tried though, Ino couldn't come up with a plan and it was making her even angrier.

Oh what she would give to destroy that bitch.

* * *

><p>Sasuke looked down at the sight before him with mixed emotions. He didn't really know what to think or to feel about what he was seeing, but he knew that it made him angry, not only at them, but also at himself since it was his own fault. If he had just let Sakura stay the night in his bed, then she wouldn't be sleeping with his older brother.<p>

Right now, the two of them were laying on the sofa together. Sakura was curled up to Itachi's side with his arm around her in a protective hold whilst Itachi himself was laying on his back with his other arm resting under his head. There was only the throw covering them, but despite the cold temperature of the room, neither really seemed too bothered about it.

No…

Sakura was shivering ever so slightly and there were goose bumps covering Itachi's bare chest. The sight made Sasuke's eyes narrow. Why the hell couldn't he have put a shirt on? That arrogant jerk was always trying to show off, in Sasuke's opinion.

Without making a sound, Sasuke moved over to the fireplace and lit it. Despite not liking how he had found them, he couldn't just let them freeze and as the warmth started to fill the room, he saw Sakura relaxing before she let out a soft sigh.

Damn it why couldn't he have just said yes?

Feeling incredibly annoyed with himself, Sasuke moved towards the kitchen to make his breakfast before going to the gym.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - There is a reason why Sasuke is acting the way he is, by the way!  
><strong>

**People keep asking for more GaaSaku and trust me (_because I _**_love_**_ the pairing, too_), there will be some in a couple of chapters! I think it's chapter nineteen?**

**Anyways, thank you to all of those who keep reviewing!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	18. A Beautiful Lie

**Chapter 18 – ****A Beautiful Lie**

"_Why do we close our eyes when we pray? When we dream? When we cry? Or when we kiss? It is because the most beautiful things in life are not seen, but felt by the heart._"

"What a load of crap!" Sakura snapped as she gestured towards the television. "Obviously whoever wrote the script for this show has never seen Jared Leto." When Itachi raised a questioning brow at her, Sakura blushed ever so slightly. "He's hot! I don't know who would want to close their eyes and _not_ look at him… unless they were thinking of him or fantasizing about him." For a second, her blush deepened before she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Anyways, there are loads of things that are beautiful! Sure, I understand what the guy is trying to say, but to me it just sounds cheesy."

Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at Sakura's rant.

It had been four days since she was welcomed to stay in his and Sasuke's home and there had only been two occasions (well, only one if you're not including the first night) where she hadn't wanted to be alone. Itachi had been working from home the past four days, but when he had an important business meeting, he had no other choice but to leave her alone in the house, since Sasuke was nearly always out.

"I take it you're still obsessed with '_Thirty Seconds To Mars_'?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded enthusiastically, a bright smile settling over her features. "Well obviously! Who couldn't love them?"

He was the one to introduce Sakura to their music when she was only thirteen years old and since then, she had been obsessed with them. She had been to three of their concerts and had enjoyed every single moment. Damn she wanted to see them again!

"Do you not have any plans?" Sakura asked suddenly, looking up at Itachi curiously. "I mean, don't you have any friends you want to see over the holidays?"

Itachi actually looked thoughtful for a moment, like he was trying to remember whether or not he wanted to actually meet with his friends. Really, there was only one person he could stand out of them all. They weren't that bad, but they did get rather annoying. There was his cousin, too. Though he didn't need to meet with him for a while – he had seen him just the other day at work.

"No." Itachi answered after only a couple of seconds. "Do you?"

"Just Gaara." she shrugged. "We've been hanging out quite a lot recently and he's been a great friend. Oh, I think I might buy him a Christmas present! Do you think he'll like that?"

Chuckling softly, Itachi nodded. Although he didn't know Gaara, surely he would accept a gift from Sakura? "I don't see why not."

"I love this song!" Sakura grinned as she stole the remote from Itachi and turned the music up until it felt like the room was trembling.

_Lie awake in bed at night and think about your life.  
>Do you want to be different?<br>Try to let go of the truth  
>The battles of your youth<br>'Cause this is just a game_

Knowing what was coming next made Sakura's grin grow as she shot up out of her seat and grabbed Itachi's hand, ignoring him as he tried to stay on the sofa. "Come on!" she whined playfully, even going as far as to pout. "Dance with me."

"You cannot dance to this song, Sakura." Itachi tried to tell her, but Sakura ignored him as she pulled out the hair–tie from her hair and when the chorus hit, she threw her head forward in time with the music.

_It's a beautiful lie!  
>It's the perfect denial.<br>Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

Seeing her style of dancing had Itachi raising an eyebrow at her since it didn't go with the music at all, but the second she lifted her head and flipped her hair back, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. And as Sakura caught sight of herself in the mirror, she laughed just as loudly.

_It's time to forget about the past  
>To wash away what happened last<br>Hide behind an empty face  
>Don't ask too much, just say<br>'Cause this is just a game_

_It's a beautiful lie!  
>It's the perfect denial.<br>Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

She tried her best to hit the notes, but it was kind of hard when some of them were screamed. Still, as Sakura screamed them it felt like she was relieving herself of all the aggression she had been feeling. There had always been something satisfying about yelling and screaming, it was almost as satisfying as slamming your fists into something.

_Everyone's looking at me  
>I'm running around in circles, baby.<br>A quiet desperation's building higher  
>I've got to remember this is just a game<em>

_So beautiful, beautiful  
>It's a beautiful lie<br>So beautiful, beautiful  
>It's a beautiful lie<br>So beautiful, beautiful__…_

"Dance with me!" Sakura yelled at Itachi again as she grabbed his hands and made him move. Up until that moment, he had been chuckling and smirking at her, watching as she made a fool of herself, but Sakura didn't care that she was making a fool of herself, she was having fun. She was listening to her favourite band, with a man who was like an older brother to her and _having fun_. How long had it been since she last did something like this? Too long.

_It's a beautiful lie!  
>It's the perfect denial.<br>Such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful it makes me!_

As the song drifted to an end, Sakura let go of Itachi's hands and quickly ran over to the remote before Itachi had the chance to. Even if he did, he didn't move, feeling far too amused with watching Sakura. As she searched through the list of songs, another grin broke across her face.

Waiting patiently to see what song she had chosen, Itachi remained silent. However, the moment he realised what song was playing, Sakura was by his side and was once again grabbing a tight hold of his hands to make him dance.

_He's a stranger to some__ a__nd a vision to none  
>He can never get enough,<em>_ g__et enough of the one  
>For a fortune he'd quit<em>_ b__ut it's hard to admit__ h__ow it ends and begins  
>On his face is a map of the world<em>_, a__ map of the world  
>On his face is a map of the world<em>_, a__ map of the world__…_

Raising their hands this way and that, Sakura couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she forced Itachi to dance, although she knew that he was secretly enjoying himself. After all, you couldn't _force_ Itachi to do anything and if he disliked what you were doing to or with him, he would stop you.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
>From yesterday, the fear!<br>From yesterday, it calls him__!__  
>But he doesn't want to read the message here<em>_!_

She was already breathless as Sakura pushed away from Itachi before bringing him in close, her grin cat–like as she twirled under his arm and let out a loud laugh.

_On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of shit  
><em>_T__hrough the blood he can look, see the life that he took  
>From council of one<em>_, h__e'll decide when he's done with the innocent  
>On his face is a map of the world<em>_, a__ map of the world  
>On his face is a map of the world<em>_, a__ map of the world__!_

Letting go of his hands, Sakura once again started throwing her hair forward, very much like how people would at a rock concert. She couldn't remember the exact name for the dance, but it was fun, although it did make her a little bit dizzy after a while. When she had gone to the actual concerts, both she and Naruto had danced just like she was now. Oh and they had gone into the mosh pits! Sakura could remember all of the fun she and the blond had in them, even though it got kind of sweaty and rough.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
>From yesterday, the fear!<br>From yesterday, it calls him  
>But he doesn't want to read the message<br>He doesn't want to read the message  
>Doesn't want to read the message here<em>_!_

Her throat was starting to hurt from singing so loudly, but she didn't care. Instead of forcing him to move, Itachi was starting to move by himself, aiding Sakura in moving to the beat better.

_On his face is a map of the world__…_

Because of how loud the music was, neither of them heard the front door opening or closing and neither did they notice as somebody walked through the house, making their way over to the living room where she and Itachi were still dancing and singing. Well, Sakura was singing, but that was beside the point.

_From yesterday, it's coming!  
>From yesterday, the fear!<br>From yesterday, it calls him  
>But he doesn't want to read the message here<br>From yesterday,__ f__rom yesterday__!__  
>From yesterday, the fear<em>_!__  
>From yesterday,<em>_ f__rom yesterday__!_

However, the music wasn't so distracting that Itachi didn't notice somebody entering the living room, only to come to an abrupt stop at the sight of him and Sakura dancing. Seeing the visitor, Itachi immediately stopped dancing, knowing that he would be making himself look like an idiot if he continued and as he stopped, Sakura sent him a dark look, annoyed that he had also stopped her before her eyes fell onto the person stood in the doorway and widened.

_But he doesn't want to read the message__…__  
><em>_H__e doesn't want to read the message__…__  
><em>_H__e doesn't want to read the message here__!_

Running over to the remote, Sakura quickly turned the music down even though it had more or less finished. Then, almost reluctantly, she looked over at the boy standing in the doorway to the living room. He still looked as though he was in shock, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing or what he had seen.

"Naruto–kun," Itachi spoke calmly, obviously noticing that Sakura was extremely uncomfortable as she averted her eyes and stared down at the remote in her hands, "are you looking for Sasuke?"

The blond was silent for a couple of moments as he continued to look between Sakura and Itachi. Were his eyes deceiving him? For a moment there, he could have sworn that he saw Sakura and Itachi dancing together! There were two things wrong with that statement. First of all, since when the hell did _Uchiha fucking __Itachi_ have fun? Naruto hadn't seen the older Uchiha brother have fun in years. And second, what was Sakura doing at Sasuke's house? Better yet, why was she spending time with Itachi?

Sakura bit her lip for a moment as she felt it start to tremble before she placed the remote down on the coffee table and looked over at Itachi, giving him a forced smile. "I'll just… go wait in the kitchen or something."

"You don't have to leave." Itachi told her before looking at Naruto. "I am sure you can both handle sitting in the same room as one another whilst I go and see where Sasuke is."

"Itachi, really, it's fine. Naruto is obviously uncomfortable–"

Itachi shook his head, immediately silencing her. "It will only take a moment. He will either be in his room or in the gym."

She quickly darted over to the door. "Then I'll go and get him."

Before Itachi could argue, Sakura was gone.

Sighing, Itachi turned to look at Naruto, who was looking more confused by the minute. "Have a seat, Naruto–kun."

"Why is Sakura here?"

"That is none of your concern." he told Naruto, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Itachi had never really liked taking sides, but Sakura needed him a hell of a lot more than Naruto did. She was suffering in ways Naruto probably couldn't even understand. "All I will tell you is that Sakura will be staying here for a couple of days. Sasuke has no choice but to go along with it, as it is my own choice as well as Mebuki–san's."

Naruto's frown deepened. "But _why_ is she here?"

Itachi looked at the blond almost sympathetically. "There are a lot of things that you do not understand, Naruto–kun. What is going on with Sakura happens to be one of those things and it will be in your best interest not to make things any harder for her."

Naruto knew a threat when he heard or saw one and hearing Itachi's words, his eyes widened.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke." Sakura called over the loud music that was playing before sighing and walking over to his docking station, stopping his music.<p>

The Uchiha was obviously annoyed that his music had been stopped as he hit the stop button on the treadmill before stepping off of it and glaring in her direction. However, when he noticed it was Sakura and that she looked quite upset, Sasuke immediately dropped his glare. "Sakura, what are you doing in here?"

For a moment, there was silence before Sakura finally looked up at Sasuke, her eyebrows furrowing as she did. "I came to tell you that Naruto is here." she said softly before giving him a wry smile. "I don't think he's happy that I'm here."

"Don't pay any attention to him." Sasuke told her as she passed him a towel to dry his face, which was sweating lightly. "He probably wasn't prepared to seeing you here let alone listening to music, singing and dancing with Itachi." at her surprised expression, Sasuke simply smirked. "Why do you think I had my music so loud? I couldn't concentrate with two different types of music playing." then, Sasuke sighed as he looked down at her. "I forgot that Naruto would be coming over today, he comes over almost every Thursday. He's earlier than usual because it's the holidays."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Shit! Did you just say it's _Thursday_?" she yelled before grabbing his wrist and looking at his watch. "Shit. Shit! _Shit_! It's already half four."

Before Sasuke could even speak, Sakura was running out of the room, screaming Itachi's name at the top of her voice almost as though she was being chased by an axe murderer. For a moment, Sasuke simply stood there, staring at the doorway with a startled, confused and unsure expression all rolled into one. Where the hell did Sakura have to go that was so important?

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sasuke left the room to go and tell Naruto that he'll have to wait for a while whilst he took a quick shower.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Sasuke–"<p>

Sasuke shot Naruto a dark look. "Don't start, Naruto. I know what you're going to ask, but I'm not telling you."

"So you don't know either, then."

The look intensified before Sasuke completely gave up and sat back in his seat, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he did so. "I found her sitting in the road and she was crying, saying she couldn't go home. What was I supposed to do? Just leave her there? I couldn't."

Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to look at Sasuke, but quickly looked back at the road when the car swerved slightly due to the snow and ice. "What do you mean you _found_ her?"

"A couple of days ago when I was driving back from your house," Sasuke muttered, his eyebrows furrowing, "I almost hit Sakura with my car." Naruto's eyes immediately flashed to Sasuke's face in shock and anger, but once again went back to the road. "She was just… sitting there. She looked so broken and so…" he frowned as he tried to find the right word. There wasn't one. "I don't even know."

The blond looked suspicious as he glanced at Sasuke again. "She looked fine to me."

However, the reply he got surprised Naruto as Sasuke's face darkened and he gave him such a murderous look that it had shivers running up his spine. "Shut up, Naruto." he spat. "You didn't see her that night. You didn't hear her or see her crying against Itachi. She was hysterical and _nothing could calm her down_! I don't know why, but Sakura had been sitting across from the woods for hours, just staring at them and when I found her, she was _freezing_. It took hours to warm her up and calm her down and even then, she was still crying and couldn't stand to be alone."

There was a short silence, one that was filled by the purr of Naruto's engine and the harsh breathing of Sasuke as he finally got it all out of his system. All of the anger and worry and even fear that had been building up from the moment he found Sakura, was finally unleashed. It may not have been much of an explosion, but for Sasuke, it pretty much was a big explosion. But apparently, the Uchiha wasn't done as he continued to glare at Naruto. "I don't care if you don't want to forgive Sakura, that is your own choice and not mine. Mebuki told me that what is going on with Sakura is not something that is to be taken lightly. Itachi knows a little of what's wrong with her, but he told me that he doesn't know much, only that Sakura has to be watched closely."

"Do you think he's lying?" Naruto asked quietly, remembering the older brother's threat and protectiveness.

Sasuke shook his head, turning his eyes back to watch the road, making Naruto relax slightly. "No. Itachi has never lied to me before. If he says that he doesn't know what is wrong with Sakura, then he doesn't know what is wrong with her."

* * *

><p>"We're going to be <em>so <em>late!"

Itachi sighed as he turned the corner and pulled into a car park. He couldn't understand how both he and Sakura had forgotten about her appointment with Tsunade. Usually Itachi kept up with his appointments, meetings and anything else of the sort well and had no trouble remembering anything. Perhaps it was simply because for the first time in a long time, he had been having fun? Could that be the reason?

Biting down on her lip, Sakura looked down at the time on her phone. "We have five minutes to get all the way up to the second from the top floor." she muttered whilst her fingers tapped restlessly against her phone and looked out of the window, helping Itachi look for a parking spot. "There! There's one over there, see by the elevator?"

"Calm down, Sakura." Itachi told her firmly whilst parking in the spot she had found. "There is no use in getting so worked up–"

"You don't know her, Itachi!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Tsunade–sama may be great at what she does, but she has a really bad temper. If I'm late, she'll get impatient and annoyed."

Itachi had to refrain from chuckling as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, locking it as he followed Sakura, who was all but jogging over to the elevator. In a way, Tsunade sounded quite a lot like Sakura. Well, the bad temper and impatient part, anyway.

Soon enough, the two of them were on the second from the top floor, Sakura completely breathless as she ran to the front desk, checking her phone every two seconds as she did so. She was three minutes late. Damn it! Tsunade was going to murder her. She was going to throw Sakura out of her window and say that it had been an accident, that Sakura had jumped and there had been nothing the blonde could do to stop her.

Giving a quick nod to the assistant outside of Tsunade's office, Sakura continued her run to the room, but paused as she remembered Itachi behind her. For a moment, uncertainty flashed across her features as she glanced at him, but Itachi seemed to understand as he nodded once.

"I'll wait for you out here, Sakura."

Grateful that he wouldn't be listening to the things she would be telling Tsunade, Sakura smiled before entering the room.

Itachi sighed as he – after signing Sakura in at the desk – walked over to one of the many seats in the reception area, ignoring the look the blonde receptionist/assistant was giving him. As arrogant and big–headed as it sounded, Itachi was used to those kinds of looks by now and had been for quite some time. Yes, there were many of times when he wished they would just leave him alone, but you don't always get what you want.

He wasn't bothered with waiting for Sakura's session to be over, or that she didn't want him to join her. Those kinds of sessions were extremely personal and private – definitely not something you invited people to sit in and listen to.

Having Sakura over at his house hadn't been so bad, Itachi thought as he sat back in his seat and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was usually so quiet and stiff, so it was kind of nice having somebody who was so lively and energetic staying there for a while, bringing a bit of life to the home. The way he had acted not even an hour ago with Sakura was a way he hadn't acted in years.

When his and Sasuke's parents had died, Itachi had had to grow up pretty quickly so that he could take care of not only himself, but also his younger brother. He didn't want Sasuke to have to go to a foster home or go to another family member because he couldn't look after him (though it wouldn't have been too bad if he went to their cousin). Fortunately, at the time, Itachi had already been eighteen, so he could become the legal guardian of his younger brother. Also, Mebuki had helped out in any way she possibly could, even going as far as to helping him with the Uchiha Company if he needed it.

There were a few new messages on his phone, some of them from his friends whilst others were from other companies and organisations wishing to do business with his.

The Uchiha Company was well–known all over the world and it was extremely powerful. Itachi had always known this, but it wasn't until he took over that he really realised just how large the company was. Not only that, but he had also realised just how difficult it was to keep control and on top of everything, which was where Mebuki came in. With her help, he had been able to keep the company from failing and in thanks to her hard work, Itachi had supported her when she had told him about starting her own company, a fashion one.

"Itachi." a surprised voice spoke from down the corridor.

He knew that voice and out of respect, Itachi put away his phone and stood up. Nodding his head ever so slightly, he greeted him, "Minato–san."

Minato was Naruto's father but it still surprised Itachi how much they looked alike, yet how different their personalities were. Well, up until lately their personalities had been different. Where Minato was calm and patient, Naruto was… well, he was the exact opposite. Now however, Naruto had been calming himself a lot and didn't scream and shout as much. He was still energetic, there was no doubt about that, but he wasn't as loud and annoying.

"Are you here to see Tsunade?" Minato asked, seeming completely surprised by the thought.

Itachi shook his head, knowing that Minato couldn't share anything about patients or clients here. "I'm here with Sakura." he told the blond, noticing how Minato's features seemed to grow serious and slightly sad all at the same time. "She is with Tsunade–sama."

There was a moment of silence before Minato finally spoke again. "I knew that Sakura had my former student, Hatake Kakashi, as her assistant during school hours, but I didn't know she was still receiving help from Tsunade." Minato looked troubled for a moment as he glanced over at the shut doors. "I didn't think her condition was serious enough to still need Tsunade's help." a small frown showed on Itachi's face as he watched Minato, but before he could speak, the blond was facing him again. "So why have you come here with Sakura?"

"Sakura is staying with me and Sasuke for a few days, as she was uncomfortable in her home. Mebuki asked me if I would be able to bring her to her appointment and sign her in, since Sakura apparently doesn't like coming here."

"I can't say I blame her." Minato smiled, although it looked more like a smirk. "Tsunade isn't as gentle as others and is a very blunt woman. But despite that, she is one of the best at what she does." then, Minato frowned. "Why was Sakura feeling uncomfortable in her own home?"

For a moment, Itachi said nothing, unsure on whether or not it would be okay for him to discuss things such as that. However a moment later, he decided that it wouldn't be okay. "It is not my place to say, Minato–san, though I think she may be going home very soon."

Minato's frown only deepened at the look on Itachi's face. Like all other businessmen, he had the perfect expressionless mask. "And why do you think that?"

"Naruto–kun came by earlier." he told Minato and almost immediately, the latter's features emptied as understanding filled his eyes. "He was shocked at seeing Sakura in our home and it got… uncomfortable." Saying that it got uncomfortable was an understatement, but Itachi couldn't think of any other words. "Seeing his reaction, Sakura became quite upset and used whatever excuse she could to leave the room."

The older man nodded before he sighed. "I see. Would you like me to have a word with him?"

Itachi simply shook his head. "Nobody is to know of Sakura's sessions with Tsunade–sama, or the reasons why she needs them, Sasuke and Naruto–kun included. She wishes for them to forgive her before telling them everything, saying that she would rather them hate her than pity her." There was a brief pause before Itachi spoke again. "But I would be grateful if Naruto–kun could tell Sasuke when he will be coming over, that way what happened earlier can be avoided in the future."

Once again, Minato nodded. "I understand." he told the Uchiha before smiling. "You're a good man for looking after Sakura like this. Not many people would, giving some of the risks of her condition."

"She is like a younger sister to me." Itachi stated simply whilst looking over at the door. "Also… Sasuke was very hard to deal with when Sakura disappeared. He came close to being kicked out of school as well as losing any chance he may have at getting into a respectable college. I don't wish to see him in such a state again and I don't want anything to happen to Sakura."

"You're a good man." Minato repeated as he placed his hand on Itachi's shoulder. When he removed his hand, the blond looked up at the clock. "I guess I will just have to wait until Tsunade is free. There is some paperwork she has been trying to avoid that needs filling out."

* * *

><p>Just like she had thought, Tsunade wasn't pleased with her being late, even if it was only by a few minutes.<p>

Exiting the room with a sigh, Sakura closed the door behind her gently and turned to face Itachi, only to pause at the sight before her. However, after a couple of seconds, she walked towards them. For a moment she had thought it was Naruto who was sitting beside Itachi, but then the man had raised his head to look at the clock and she had seen the difference.

"Minato–san." Sakura nodded politely, though her smile seemed a little forced.

"Sakura, it's nice to see you again. Kushina and I have been wondering how you were." Minato smiled as he and Itachi stood.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm fine. How are you all?"

Noticing how she had said 'all' and not 'both', Minato's smile became more genuine. He had always liked Sakura. She had always been a kind girl and even when she had been going through a difficult time before she left, Sakura had always been polite and well–mannered to both him and Kushina. In fact, his wife had even classed Sakura as her own daughter! They _both_ had – and still do. When she had found out about what had happened to Sakura, his wife had been down for quite a while, especially when she found out their son wouldn't forgive Sakura. Whilst they could both understand why, it still disappointed them, since Naruto had always been the type to forgive.

"Kushina and I have just celebrated our twenty–fifth anniversary." he told her, his smile looking more like a grin when he saw her smile brighten.

"Did you do anything special? Please don't tell me Kushina–san asked you to take her to that ramen place again!"

Minato chuckled. "No, no. We actually went away for the week to a resort. I don't know how she did it, but Kushina had still somehow managed to find ramen."

Sakura's smiled fondly. "Just like Naruto would."

He nodded, his own smile dimming when he saw a sad look fill her eyes before she looked down at the ground. However, before he could reply, Sakura looked up at Itachi, who was silently listening to their conversation. "I know you probably don't want to go, but _please_ can you take me to the mall?"

Itachi's face deadpanned and Minato couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sakura–"

"_Please_," she turned her 'puppy dog' eyes on him and Itachi felt like sighing with annoyance, since nobody could really say no to her when she had _those_ eyes. "I need to buy Christmas presents!"

The reminder of Christmas only being three days away had Itachi reluctantly nodding as he also had a few things he needed to pick up. "Fine, I will take you shopping."

"Great!" she grinned before turning back to Minato. "It was nice to see you again, Minato–san. Tell Kushina–san I said hi!"

Minato nodded whilst still chuckling as Sakura all but dragged Itachi down the hallway. "I will! Have a happy Christmas."

"And you too!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Don't worry! Gaara will be in the next chapter and pretty much almost every chapter after that. I wanted to show how Sakura acted with others and not just Gaara and Sasuke, you know?  
><strong>

**Anyways, my internet is running like shit right now and keeps disconnecting and connecting and I honestly cannot be bothered with it! So I probably won't be updating as much this week until it's sorted.**

**This isn't my best chapter, but I think, _think_, that I like it. That and it was kind of hard to re-write.**

**The songs, by the way, are both by Thirty Seconds to Mars. The first is called 'A Beautiful Lie' and the second is 'From Yesterday'. If you want to see an awesome Kakashi amv, look at this /watch?v=oruFXsbQVQ0**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	19. From Me To You

**Chapter 19 – ****From Me To You**

It was like there was an itch that needed to be scratched and there was only one person Sakura could count on to scratch that itch with no questions asked.

Sasuke.

The only problem was how could she get him to scratch that certain itch? No, he would never ask questions, but if Sakura suddenly turned to him and asked him – without words – to fuck her, wouldn't that seem just a little bit strange?

Groaning with annoyance, Sakura rubbed her face tiredly before letting her hand fall and hit the pillow beside her. It was the day before Christmas and she would be going home today or tonight. So she needed to get her… _frustration_… sorted out before she left, otherwise she could most likely jump Sasuke tomorrow during Christmas dinner. That would be quite the show. Damn that made her sound desperate! What the hell was wrong with her? It was all Sasuke's fault, if she was being completely honest. If he didn't walk around shirtless all of the time, she wouldn't have been–

No, it wasn't fair to blame Sasuke for her being horny.

It was that damned dream that she had last night. And it hadn't even been about Sasuke, either.

It had been about Gaara.

And _fuck_ he had been good at pleasing her.

Just remembering what she had dreamed about made Sakura once again groan as her thighs rubbed together restlessly, trying to create friction. Her hand was itching to move, to go between her legs and at least try to help with the growing need building inside of her, but Sakura knew that it wouldn't help, not really. What she needed… only a guy could give. She knew that Gaara most definitely didn't think of her that way – he was still against her touching him. Well, he had been letting her hold his hand, sometimes, but that was to drag him places. He didn't have a choice in the matter. No, even if Gaara did let her hold his hand, he never seemed comfortable about it. At least she didn't think that he was.

There were only three other men who she spoke with and two of them were definitely on the strictly forbidden list. The first was like her older brother, whilst the second was like her teacher. Although… Kakashi _was_ rather hot. Sakura slapped her hand to her forehead. No! She didn't even know what he looked like damn it. He always wore that stupid mask. Besides, he was _Kakashi_.

Well it was settled then, wasn't it? She _had_ to go and have Sasuke… help… with her need. It wasn't like she would simply be using him. Her feelings for Sasuke were still very much there. Maybe it could be like old times? Back before she had left, they had always sought the other out when they were feeling a little hot and bothered.

It still left her feeling unsure, though. They hadn't had sex since that time in her bedroom, back when Sasuke had been so rough that he had left bruises. Not to mention she had been rather sore the day after, although that had been easier to hide. However, Sakura could do with a bit of roughness right about now.

The dream from last night once again came to the front of her mind and as it did, Sakura couldn't stop her hand from reaching under the sheets, seeming to have a mind of its own as it slowly teased the waistband of her shorts before slipping under. Sakura could barely hold back the quivering gasp that came from her as she stroked herself, her hips lifting ever so slightly off of the bed. She felt bad for thinking of Gaara… but could you really blame her after the dream she had? He had made her feel things she had never felt before, not even with Sasuke. Sakura could remember how he had touched her, how he had locked gazes with her with those intense, icy blue eyes as he teased her with his tongue, making her–

The sound of somebody knocking on her door nearly made her scream in shock as she quickly ripped her hand out from under the covers, almost hitting herself in the face with it. She did, however, mentally_ scream_ at herself. Since when the hell was she so horny that she would touch herself in somebody else's house? And whilst she was thinking about her friend, no less?

"Sakura?"

She bit her lip. It was Itachi. "Yeah?"

"Are you decent?"

Quickly checking herself and around the room, Sakura repeated her reply of "Yeah."

It felt like Itachi was entering the room slowly, hesitantly. When he did push the door open, though, Sakura found out why. Itachi had brought her breakfast in bed. Sometimes she wished that Sasuke would do things such as this. It just seemed so romantic and Sakura was sure that it would of been, had she not considered this man as her brother. Damn! Why did she have to think that? There was no denying that Itachi was hot. He was single, too.

She was really starting to piss herself off. What was she, a dog in heat?

"Sasuke has just finished training, so he's down in the kitchen." Itachi explained, shutting the door behind him before walking over towards the bed. "I have been on the phone all morning so I wasn't able to wake you up."

Sakura was extremely glad that he hadn't woken her up. She probably would have jumped him.

Sitting up and leaning against the headboard, Sakura gave him a smile. "It's fine, Itachi. Thank you for making and bringing me breakfast in bed."

"It was the least I could do." he said rather simply, handing her the tray. A smirk found its way to his lips as he heard her stomach growl loudly. Instead of saying anything though, he stuffed one hand in his pocket before pulling out a bottle, making Sakura's smile turn into a frown. Itachi either didn't notice or ignored her frown as he placed one pill beside her plate. "Make sure you take it after you've eaten, Sakura."

Her eyes widened. This was new. Nobody had ever trusted her with taking her medication before. Well, they had, but Sakura had lost that trust not long after. "You're actually trusting me to take it without watching me?"

He gave her a rather blank look, one that practically screamed that he dared her to disobey him. It made her feel like a child again. "Of course."

Huffing, Sakura nodded before tucking into her breakfast, though she paused after a couple of bites when Itachi was halfway to the door. "Are you busy with work today?"

Itachi nodded once, leaning against the wall beside the still closed door. For a moment, he looked much older than he was, the look on his face surprising Sakura. Itachi looked so worn out and stressed and she felt sorry for him. "Yes. I have a meeting with another company who are wishing to do business. It is not one I can reschedule or miss. You won't be alone, though. Sasuke will be here all day since it is Christmas tomorrow."

Inwardly, Sakura was grinning like a cheshire cat. Outwardly, she looked as though she could be sulking as she pouted. "Oh. Will you be here before I have to go home?"

Nodding once again, Itachi smirked. "Yes."

Sakura looked down at her pill, feigning a look of worry. "Are you sure Sasuke is still in the kitchen? There's no chance that he'll see me somehow?"

"No. After breakfast, he usually goes for a shower." Itachi had no idea what his little brother did in the shower, and he didn't want to know, but he was usually in there for at least half an hour.

"Good." she smiled, keeping her head lowered so Itachi wouldn't see the mischievous look in her eyes. She also knew how long Sasuke took in the shower. Once she was certain it was gone, Sakura looked up and smiled once again. "Well, I hope it all goes well for you today. Ring or text me when you're on your way back and I'll make some lunch!"

Itachi nodded once before leaving, smirking at how Sakura thought he didn't know what she had planned.

He was a genius, after all.

Not only that, but it wasn't all that hard to pick up on the signs. As much as Itachi hated to think it, it was obvious what Sakura wanted. He just hoped that she knew what she was doing.

* * *

><p>Once she had eaten her breakfast, taken her pill and was certain that Itachi was gone (his car was gone), Sakura quickly shot out of bed, not even bothering to take the tray down to the kitchen as she ran into one of the bathrooms. She had showered last night, so this was just to make sure she didn't smell and was clean. After all, it wasn't a very good turn on if they smelled bad, was it?<p>

Done cleaning herself, Sakura released her hair (which she had put up to keep dry), ruffling it this way and that before throwing a long sleeved shirt on and slipping a pair of lacy underwear on (she knew that Sasuke loved this pair). She didn't bother with shorts. What would be the point if they would just be coming straight off?

Biting her lip, she pressed her ear to the door, listening as she heard the shower switch off. Counting to two to make sure he would be out of the shower and just about to grab a towel, Sakura silently pushed open the door before stepping in and closing it. However, no matter how quiet she was, it seemed Sasuke still noticed her as his eyes suddenly widened and his hands went straight to cover himself. When he noticed it was her, though, he rolled his eyes and stopped covering himself, carrying on walking towards the towel rack. There was no point in hiding himself from someone who had seen him naked many times before, was there?

"What do you want, Sakura?"

She smirked, stepping in front of Sasuke before he could cover what she was craving. Once again, Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura pressed her lips to his chest, although instead of moving up to his lips, she moved downwards to a completely different part of his body. Before he could even think of stopping her, she was stroking his member, which twitched to life under her touch and when her lips wrapped around him, a groan escaped Sasuke's lips as his eyes closed and his hand fisted in her hair, the other holding onto the counter for support.

What had gotten into her? That should have been the question running through his mind, but all Sasuke could think about was how her tongue felt as she licked him slowly, how her lips felt when they pressed against his erection before she was suddenly taking all of him into her mouth. His hips bucked and he could feel Sakura smirking, but he couldn't bring himself to glare at her. It was kind of pitiful really how sex made his mind empty of everything. He couldn't even remember if he had any plans today or not.

It was only Sakura who could do that to him.

As he felt one of her hands leave his body, Sasuke opened his eyes and was surprised as he watched her now free hand disappear into her underwear, unashamedly fingering herself in front of him. Her eyes were closed as she moaned against him, the vibrations of her sound of pleasure making him shiver, though Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of her hand before his eyes moved to her face. Sakura had never done something so daring before. She had always refused whenever he teased her about touching herself in front of him, saying it was pointless if he was there to do it for her.

When she felt that he was just as hot and bothered as she was, Sakura pulled away and stood up straight, removing her hand from her underwear and licking her two fingers, almost challenging him as she gave Sasuke a sultry smile and turned around, bending over at the waist. Seeing what she wanted, he had to hold back another groan and a second later after bending over, Sasuke was behind her, pressing himself against the apex of her thighs.

Sakura sighed as her hands gripped the sink tightly, her eyes looking at her reflection before quickly looking at Sasuke's. He wasted no time in pulling her underwear down, smirking as he noticed which pair they were. Navy and lacy – his favourite. Remembering their previous time together, this time, Sasuke made sure that she was definitely ready for him. He couldn't stand the thought of hurting her again, especially when she had looked so… so utterly broken after.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whimpered, her hips rocking. "I need you."

And with one swift thrust, Sasuke was inside of her. Since he knew her well and considering the position she had chosen, he took her hard and fast. The sounds of her whimpers and moans only encouraging to move faster, harder. He lost himself in her body, his mind focusing on only one thing, something so very primal. Sakura wasn't the only one who enjoyed this position.

Her orgasm came quick and he was right behind her.

* * *

><p>She wasn't satisfied.<p>

Even though Sakura had smiled at Sasuke, even though her heart had been pounding in her ears, even though she had been breathless and her body had been trembling, she was not satisfied. Not by a long shot. It didn't even feel like it had been her who climaxed. It felt like she had merely been a witness to what had gone on in the bathroom and it annoyed Sakura to no end. It had been going so well, she had thought that her body would soon feel that pure bliss after orgasm, but she didn't. After he had entered her, it didn't even feel like it was her who he was having sex with. No, that was the wrong way to describe it. Sakura knew that it was her, but it didn't feel like her, if that made sense. It did in her head, anyway.

There had been no sweet words exchanged, no tender touches or passionate kisses. Sasuke had held onto her for a couple of minutes as they both calmed down before moving away. Sure, he had – without words – asked if she wanted to join him in his second shower of the day, but she couldn't. Sasuke had looked confused and even a little hurt for a moment before his cold front was back up, before he had shrugged and simply showered without her. As he did, Sakura had put her underwear back on before running to a different bathroom, washing herself and getting changed.

That had been two hours ago and since her shower, Sakura had been sat in the living room, just watching television. Sasuke hadn't come downstairs, not even to complain that it was too loud. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest even though she knew it was her own fault.

Thankfully, Itachi returned only an hour later, though he seemed to immediately pick up on the change of atmosphere the moment he stepped through the door. He had looked at her questioningly, silently asking her what had happened, but Sakura hadn't replied. She had just shaken her head, making it obvious that it was just easier not to ask. She loved Itachi like he was her brother, really she did, but there were some things that were just best left unsaid.

So now here she was, packing the last of her things and getting ready for her mother to pick her up. The only reason Mebuki was picking her up was because Sakura needed to go somewhere else before going home.

Somebody knocking on her door caused Sakura to freeze for a moment before she continued packing. "Come in."

It genuinely surprised her to see Sasuke as he opened the door, closing it silently behind him. He seemed a little uncomfortable, like he didn't even know what he was doing. Seeing this made Sakura sigh, not really knowing what else to do. So, she decided to wait him out as she moved around the room, making sure that she had everything. You would have thought she lived in a different country, not next door, but then again, Sakura wasn't sure when she would be invited back to the Uchiha home. She didn't know if they would want her to come back.

"Why?"

Sakura paused, looking over her shoulder at Sasuke curiously as he stared at her intently, like he was trying to look into her mind by just staring at her. She really did wish him luck with that. "What?"

"Why did you come to me?"

This time, he shifted ever so slightly, seeming more unsure by the second. Sighing, Sakura finished folding one of her nightshirts before putting it into her bag and turning around to face him fully. "I told you why, Sasuke." there was a faint blush on her cheeks, but Sakura ignored it as she looked him in the eye. "I needed you."

His eyes narrowed. "You used me?"

Sakura's eyes widened, completely stunned and maybe even a little offended. "U–_Used_ you? Why would you think–" she shook her head, cutting herself off. She could see exactly why he thought that. "Sasuke, I didn't use you. There's just… There's some things that… I can't explain it right now."

"Try."

"I don't know _how_!"

Silence.

Tears filled her eyes as she saw Sasuke turning towards the door, giving her a dark look as he did. However, before he could leave, Sakura shot over and grabbed his wrist, pulling him away from the door and closer to her. "Sasuke. I–I know that… I know that when we first got together, or whatever the hell we were, that we agreed that it was purely physical…" she closed her eyes, not having the nerve to look at him. "I've always had feelings for you, Sasuke, _always_. I love you and I have for years."

"Then why won't you tell me anything?"

Seeing that he was getting angry and frustrated with her, Sakura tightened her hold, trying her best not to scream or shout at him. "I don't know _how_ to." she whispered, her heart clenching tightly in her chest. Looking back up at him, she moved a little closer, happy that Sasuke didn't back away. "I promise that I _will_ tell you one day, but right now… I'm not ready to talk about it."

And he was most definitely not ready to hear her story.

Not that she'd ever tell _him_ that.

He nodded silently, seeming to accept her decision. "I'll… see you tomorrow, then."

Sakura couldn't help but smirk at the awkward tone in his voice. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke."

* * *

><p>Sasuke hadn't been there when Mebuki picked her up, but then again, she hadn't expected him to be. It wouldn't be Sasuke if he did. Itachi was there, though. When he had told her that she would be welcome to come back whenever she wanted, even if it was three in the morning, Sakura hadn't been able to stop herself from hugging him. She had thought that after today, she would never be invited back. It was such a relief to know that she could come back whenever she wanted.<p>

Now, she and Mebuki were on their way to Gaara's house. Sakura had waited until they were in the car to tell her mother. It just felt strange asking her to take her to Gaara's house in front of Itachi after what had happened between her and Sasuke earlier. Had she been right to do that? It wasn't like anything was happening between her and Gaara. At least, she didn't think that there was. Yes, he could make butterflies fill her stomach and make her feel happy, but it wasn't like they were sleeping together.

When they finally arrived, Sakura couldn't help but smirk at her mother's shocked expression. She seemed just as surprised as Sakura had when she first saw the house that Gaara lived in. Grabbing her bag, she told Mebuki to wait in the car as she got out and jogged over to the front door, trying her best not to slip on the ice or snow, though she had nearly fallen on her ass twice by the time she made it to the steps.

Gaara's car was there, but that didn't really surprise her. He had told her that he didn't like the cold, so he wouldn't really be going out that much. By the time she reached the front door, Sakura was trembling, suddenly wishing she had changed before coming here. It was too late to do anything now, though. Besides, she was only going to be here for five minutes.

Only a second after she knocked, the door opened, revealing Kankuro. Sakura's smile died down before she forced it back into place. "Hi, Kankuro. Can I speak to Gaara, please?"

"He's in his room." Kankuro told her, looking her up and down before sighing and stepping aside, seeing that she was freezing. "Wait here and I'll go get him."

It seemed like only minutes later that Gaara was coming down the stairs, giving her the same strange look Kankuro had. "…Are you in your pyjamas?"

"Yes."

Why did she reply like it was an every day thing to go outside wearing her pyjamas? Right now, her legs were burning and as Sakura looked down, she almost groaned when she saw they were bright red. Well, that's what she got for wearing shorts during winter. At least her cable knit cardigan was keeping her upper half warm.

"Why?"

He looked curious and the sight made her smile, but she didn't reply until he was standing in front of her. "I can only stay here for about five minutes. My mom is outside."

"Then why did you come here?" It wasn't said in an offensive way.

Sakura fidgeted with the handles of her bag before inwardly telling herself to get over her sudden nervousness and opening it, looking for what she had been wanting to give him. "I got you something – a gift. I don't care if you didn't get me anything, I just wanted to get you one."

Gaara stared with wide eyes as Sakura pulled a wrapped gift out of her bag, holding it out to him. Just as he was about to take it, however, she brought it closer to her and seeing her bright smile, Gaara narrowed his eyes. There was a hint of mischievousness to her eyes that immediately put him on edge. What was she planning?

Before he could even react, Sakura was on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his cheek. At the feeling of her soft lips on his face, Gaara's eyes widened and in his opinion, she pulled away much too soon, but not before he thought about turning his head to the side, so that he could feel her lips against his.

"Thank you for always being there for me, even when I annoy you."

Gaara could only nod before finally saying, "…Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Not a big GaaSaku moment, but there you go!  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	20. It's Christmas!

**Chapter 20 – ****It's Christmas!**

His cheek had been soft and the shocked expression on his face had been so innocent!

Sakura smiled to herself as she pulled back her sheets, getting out of bed. After kissing Gaara yesterday, she had given him his gift and left, not even giving him the chance to get over his shock. Since then, she hadn't been able to wipe the smile from her face.

When she was a little girl, Christmas had seemed so magical to her. Every year, Sakura would wake up at around five in the morning, open the smaller gifts in her stocking before running to her parents bedroom and bouncing on the bed, singing and shouting that it was Christmas. Never had they yelled at her for doing it, though if she tried it any other day of the year, they would have. After that they would all go downstairs and open their gifts together. Her mother used to record Sakura's reactions, but she had stopped when Sakura turned ten. She couldn't remember why.

Last Christmas had been… difficult. Her parents had been watching her every move and Sakura had been cold and aloof. She hadn't been able to get into the Christmas spirit at all.

This year, Sakura was determined to make it happier. She wanted her parents to be happier.

It was around ten now and Sakura could hear her parents downstairs already. Why hadn't they come upstairs to wake her up? It was probably because they knew how important sleep was to her. It smelled like her mother was cooking.

Since Sakura had turned fourteen, they had all agreed to have breakfast before opening presents. That way, when tidying up the mess made with the wrapping paper and whatnot, they could also tidy up the mess from making and eating breakfast. When she was younger, Sakura had protested, saying that she wanted to open her presents the moment she woke up, but it didn't change anything. Now, Sakura could see why they had chosen to do such a thing.

As you get older, Christmas is never as fun as it used to be when you were a child. Back then, all of your presents were a surprise and you believed in Santa. Once you find out that Santa isn't real, when you start choosing your presents as well as buying them for others, you start to realise how stressful Christmas can be.

"Morning!"

Her parents seemed surprised to see Sakura so cheerful in the morning, but when they saw her smile, they couldn't help but smile right back at her.

"Morning, Sakura."

"How're you feeling, kicker?"

She shook her head at her father's nickname for her. As a kid she had loved it when he called her that. It had made her feel badass. Now, it was a little embarrassing, though she never told him that. "I'm great! What time's Itachi and Sasuke going to be here?"

"Around one." Mebuki answered, placing a plate filled with food in front of Sakura as well as a cup of tea. "Here you go, sweetie. I made your favourite tea, too."

"Thanks!"

Sakura made a genuine effort of eating everything on her plate without her parents having to force her, despite it making her feel a little sick. The smiles that her parents gave each other only made her carry on. Not for herself, for them. The past year had been hard on all of them.

Her eyes widened. "Did we get my medication back off of Itachi?"

"Yes, it's here." Mebuki told her, chuckling at her daughter's expression.

Moments later, they were in front of the large Christmas tree, opening their gifts and as they did, Sakura's smile was less forced and more genuine. They had both gone out of their way choosing her presents and some of them, like back when she was a child, were a surprise.

A gasp caught Sakura's attention and as she looked up, her grin dimmed to a smile as she saw what her mother was holding. It was the necklace she had bought for her. "It's a locket." Sakura told her, watching her mother turn the silver necklace this way and that. "Open it."

And when she did, tears of happiness filled her mother's eyes. The older woman sobbed as she covered her mouth and Sakura couldn't help but chuckle as her father shook his head and looked at the picture inside, smiling as he did. His hand patted Mebuki's knee in a comforting gesture.

The picture was of the three of them, together. Well, there were actually two pictures, but the one of them together was the one that made her mother cry. It was of when Sakura was around eleven, when they had gone away for a month on holiday. They were standing close together, smiling brightly. Sakura couldn't remember a time when they had been happier. The other was of her when she was first born. It had been hard finding that picture, but she had managed to find it, thanks to Itachi's help.

"Oh, Sakura, I love it! Thank you."

* * *

><p>It was no secret that she was spoilt and as Sakura followed her parents outside, an unsure smile on her face, she couldn't help but let her mouth drop wide open at the sight before her when they finally reached her last present from them.<p>

It was the car she wanted, the Volvo C30.

"Oh my God."

Her parents grinned.

"I love you both so much!" she told them whilst running towards the car, her eyes still wide.

There was a pink ribbon wrapped around the car and even though she should have, Sakura couldn't bring herself to take it off. It was too pretty. The car was silver and since it had obviously been brought out of the garage only moments before by her father, there wasn't any snow on it. Well, not yet there wasn't.

"You can't drive it, yet." Kazashi told her as both he and Mebuki walked over in her direction. "You still need to retake your test but when you pass, you can drive it as much as you want."

Mebuki nodded. "After this past year, your father and I both agreed that you deserved it."

Sakura only grinned. "Thank you!"

* * *

><p>Because they were having guests over, Sakura had had to change. So, instead of her pyjamas, she was wearing a dark blue bodycon dress. It was long–sleeved and had a high neckline, since it <em>was <em>a little on the short side. To go with it, she was wearing black boots that were about calf–high. There was a heel on them, though it wasn't any bigger than three inches and was quite thick, so they were extremely easy to walk in. They were rather comfortable, too. Both items were gifts from her mother. The necklace she was wearing, however, was a gift from her father. It was beautiful! There were diamonds on it and the chain was made out of silver.

Once her makeup and hair was done, Sakura looked herself over in the mirror before leaving. She had decided just to straighten her hair and leave it down, whilst her eye makeup was a little more dramatic. She had decided to go with the whole 'smokey–eye' effect, though instead of using browns, she had gone with blacks. Brown wasn't really her colour and because of her eye makeup, she was wearing lip gloss that only made your lips look shiny.

Only minutes later was there a knock at the door and unlike previously, when her mother hadn't liked Sakura opening the door, this time, she had no problem with it.

Sakura couldn't help but smile brightly at the two before her. They smiled, exchanged their 'merry Christmas' wishes and made their way to the living room to join her father, since Mebuki was busy with the dinner. She didn't like having help in the kitchen – Sakura had already asked her if she wanted any, though. Mebuki was one of those types of people who had to be in control, who had to have everything just right.

There wasn't much conversation, but when you were sat with Kazashi and the two Uchiha brothers, it wasn't all that surprising. However, despite his empty face, there was a smile in her father's eyes as he watched Sakura whilst she spoke with either Sasuke or Itachi. After a while though, they all settled on watching a film.

"Sakura!" Mebuki called from the kitchen. "Will you come and help me set up the table?"

She didn't respond, only got up to help.

Sakura didn't fail to notice Sasuke's eyes on her as she left the room, making her smirk to herself.

"You're in a good mood today." Mebuki commented as the two of them set up the table.

Smiling, Sakura looked up from where she had been setting down the cutlery. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No!" she quickly answered before chuckling to herself. "No, it's a nice thing. I've missed seeing you this happy. It's been a while."

It has.

* * *

><p>Christmas dinner had been delicious, though nobody was surprised by that since Mebuki had always been a great cook. During dinner, Sakura had sat next to Sasuke and when his leg kept brushing against hers, it took everything in her not to start grinning. Damn! She was acting like a twelve year old girl who had a fan–girl crush again.<p>

That thought didn't stop the pair from sneaking off up into her room when Itachi and Kazashi both offered to help Mebuki with the dishes. It didn't stop Sasuke from pinning her against the wall and capturing her lips with his, from lifting her legs and wrapping them around his waist. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was in good spirits this Christmas as Sasuke's more than obvious arousal pressed against her, making her gasp into the kiss.

His hands were suddenly pulling at her dress, trying to take it off, but Sakura quickly grabbed his hands, stopping him. She didn't want to take her dress off. She couldn't. Not around Sasuke. "Keep it on." Sakura whispered breathlessly against his lips. "Just in case somebody comes upstairs."

Thinking her explanation as acceptable, Sasuke nodded once before kissing her again and unbuttoning his jeans. Once they and his underwear were half–slid down his legs, Sakura pushed her underwear to the side and was barely able to hold back her moan when he entered her.

Knowing that they had to be quick so that nobody would suspect anything was thrilling. However, for a split second, Sasuke could have sworn that Sakura's eyes were unfocused and not only with lust, but before he could be certain, she buried her face into his neck, trying to muffle her sounds of pleasure and not even a second later, the thought was gone as he felt Sakura's orgasm creeping up on her as well as his own.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Originally, this chapter wasn't even going to be in the story and it only took me about fifteen minutes to write, which is probably why it's a bit on the 'meh' side. I think this is the last chapter now where I'm going to try and show you the type of girl Sakura is, since you're all dying to know what happened to her. For those of you who haven't guessed what type of girl she is, Sakura is spoilt and a little on the vain side. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourselves because if I tell you now, then I'll be giving away the big secret! ;-)  
><strong>

**Also, can any of you guess how her relationship with Sasuke works, yet? **

**I'll be updating again in a couple of hours and I have a very, _very_ nice surprise for you all! ;-)  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	21. It's A Date!

**Chapter 21 – It's A Date!**

There was a party tonight.

Sakura bit her lip as she looked down at the invitation in her hands. It was a New Year's Eve party and there was no doubt in her mind that everyone had received an invitation. Would they…?

"Mom," Sakura called as she entered the kitchen. When she heard her mother hum, she continued, "do you think I could go to this party tonight?"

In an instant, just like Sakura had been expecting, Mebuki was in front of her, all but ripping the invitation out of her hands and glaring at her. "Sakura, you can't–"

"I won't be drinking alcohol." she sighed, sitting down at the island in the kitchen. "I just want to go. I'm tired of staying in the house all day."

"Why don't you go and spend New Year's Eve with Sasuke and Itachi?"

Yeah, like she hadn't already thought of doing that. "They're visiting their cousin. Besides, neither of them are the sort to party, are they? Not to mention that if they hadn't been visiting Shisui, Naruto would be hanging around Sasuke and then it would just be uncomfortable."

Mebuki's eyes saddened as she looked down at the invitation in her hands. She still couldn't believe that Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who seemed to always be smiling, seemed to always be forgiving, wouldn't give her daughter a chance to explain or apologise. Honestly, Mebuki had thought that he would be the first person to forgive Sakura, but it turned out that it was Sasuke, which surprised Mebuki greatly. It wasn't that she thought anything bad of Sasuke, it was just that he could be very… Uchiha–like. There was no other word to describe it, unless she used his father as an example.

"You can go on one condition." Mebuki told her daughter softly as she sat down across from her. Placing the invitation onto the table in between them, Mebuki slid it over to Sakura. "You have to take a friend, one that you know won't leave your side." at Sakura's annoyed look, she sighed. "It's just a precaution, Sakura. You can't have any alcohol and no doubt there will be a lot of it at this party. Even though it's for teenagers, I know how these things work."

It wasn't that she didn't have anybody to go with, because Sakura had already been planning to ask a certain redhead to accompany her before Mebuki had even said anything. No, it was because she wanted her mother to have more faith in her. Sakura already knew the risks of drinking alcohol, knew that it not only made her a pretty violent person, but it also didn't mix well with her medication. Nodding, Sakura agreed. "Gaara doesn't drink, either." she told her mother quietly. "He said he doesn't like the effects it has."

"Well, then, it's settled!" Mebuki smiled brightly, standing once again. Then, her smile slipped to a smirk. "So, are you and Gaara–kun an item?"

Honestly, Sakura didn't think her face could get any redder. She had had that dream about her and Gaara again last night… had she been calling out his name? The look in her mother's eyes was mischievous, downright evil. Oh God… What if she _had_ heard her moaning his name in her sleep?

As though the sexual dreams weren't bad enough, Sakura had also been having dreams where she and Gaara were together, in _love_. She wasn't denying having any feelings for Gaara, because it was so obvious that there were some there, but _love_? It felt different to anything she had ever felt before, including her feelings for Sasuke, but could it be love? Yes, he made her heart beat incredibly faster (especially when he smirked or when his eyes locked onto hers), yes, he made butterflies that felt _very_ overgrown flutter around in her stomach and yes, he could make her blush. But surely that didn't mean she was in love with him, did it? What about Sasuke?

"Why would you think that?" Sakura finally managed to choke out, earning herself a rather loud chuckle from her mother.

"Sakura, honey, look at your face! And I've seen the way you look at him or when you're talking about him. It's so obvious that you're falling in love with him. It's nice to see you looking, well, not like you are now because it looks as though you're not even breathing, but the smile in your eyes is such a beautiful thing to see! I'm happy for you and I know that it wouldn't have changed your thoughts if we didn't, but just know that I like Gaara–kun and so does your father. He's a very–"

Sakura blocked out her mother as her eyes went wide and she stared down at her hands in shock.

No…

Falling in love? With Gaara?

He was going to hate her!

* * *

><p>Sakura raised her hand to the door, only to lower it once again and frown.<p>

It had been three hours now since she had learned about her feelings for Gaara. She had accepted it, somewhat, and was ready to at least try to act normal around him (or as normal as she could be). Sakura wasn't an idiot. She knew that something bad had happened to Gaara to make him hate getting close to people, that made him hate being touched. How would he react if she told him she was in love with him?

No, she couldn't tell him. She couldn't lose another one of her friends. Not again.

Just as Sakura went to finally knock on the door, it swung open, revealing a blonde who simply raised an eyebrow at Sakura, placing her hand on her hip and leaning against the door. It didn't seem like much, but damn. This woman was intimidating to say the least! It didn't help that Sakura recognised her instantly. She was the woman from the pictures, Gaara's older sister, Temari.

Oh shit.

She wasn't ready to meet his family yet!

Wait, what?

Shaking her head to try and remove those stupid thoughts, Sakura smiled at Temari. "Hi, I'm Sakura. May I please see Gaara?"

Temari narrowed her eyes, watching Sakura suspiciously. "Why do you want to see Gaara?"

"Because I'm his friend?" Hearing how bitchy her reply probably sounded, Sakura quickly added, "And there's a party tonight. I was wondering if he wanted to come with me."

This seemed to make Temari _very_ happy as she grabbed Sakura, literally dragging her into the house and pulling her into the living room. When she threw Sakura down onto the sofa, Temari quickly followed, sitting down next to her with an ear–to–ear grin, one that had the pink haired girl sitting back slightly. "A date?" It wasn't a question because Sakura had no time to answer. "This is great! I never thought Gaara would ever have a girlfriend, let alone go on a date. He's… well, you know. He's not a big fan of being touched and that's one of the main things in a relationship."

Temari once again looked Sakura over. "Seems my baby brother can choose his girls, too. Not that I'm surprised. Everything has to be 'perfect' to him." Like only hours before, Sakura felt herself growing _very_ red. "Hm…" Temari looked thoughtful for a moment, but just as Sakura was about to say something, she quickly cut her off. "Looking at that invitation in your hands, I'm guessing it's one of those 'upper–class' type of parties, right?" Sakura could only nod. "That's fine. He doesn't seem the type to wear them, but Gaara has a couple of suits. What colour were you planning on wearing tonight? I think you should wear red, or crimson. Yes, definitely crimson. Gaara has a tie that'd match perfectly. What kind of–"

"Temari."

At the sound of his voice, both girls tensed. Sakura didn't even dare to turn around and look at the person standing right behind her. Even though the arm of the sofa was separating them, she could practically feel him, feel his warmth. He was standing _right behind her_. Oh God… those stupid butterflies were back.

"Gaara!" Instead of seeming scared or shocked, Temari grinned and stood up. "You're going on a date tonight!"

His eyes snapped to Sakura's tensed form and narrowed. "A date?"

"Yeah!" Temari replied airily. "Which is great, because otherwise you'd be staying here on your own again. As you already know, I have plans and so does Kankuro. This way, you can spend New Year with a friend," she then added more slyly, "a _girl_friend."

"Get out." he told Temari in a rather cold voice, one that made her eyes widen before they snapped down to Sakura's form, as though she was worried about her. "_Now_."

Knowing not to push her luck with her little brother, Temari quickly disappeared, though she kept wondering if leaving Sakura on her own with Gaara was a good idea. Once she was gone, Gaara stepped around the sofa and stood right in front of Sakura, making her look up at him before her eyes shot back down to her legs. He knew that he would be coming across as intimidating, but Gaara honestly had no idea how he was supposed to act right now.

"What is Temari talking about?"

Sakura looked back up at him, biting her lip before giving him a small, nervous smile. "I came by to ask you if you wanted to come with me to a party tonight." then, looking down at the invitation in her hands, she continued. "It doesn't _have_ to be a date if you don't want it to be. We could just go as friends."

He was silent for a couple of moments. The words Gaara wanted to say sounded awkward to him, sounded weird on his tongue and lips. "…Do you want it to be a date?"

Her head snapped up, eyes wide before a more genuine smile graced her lips. Was that Gaara's way of asking her on a date? Before she could even stop herself, Sakura was on her feet and throwing her arms around Gaara's neck, practically crushing him against her. She didn't know what surprised her more. The fact that he didn't push her away, or the fact that his own arms wrapped around her waist. Sure, he was hesitant and unsure and his muscles were tensed, but he–

Wait.

Gaara had muscles?

Oh God. He _did_ have muscles! Sakura could feel herself about to melt into him, but she didn't want to pull away, she didn't want it to end. He was so warm! And despite how he acted, he was gentle, too. Yes, it was only a hug but this was _Gaara_! Gaara didn't touch people, let alone hug them.

"So, is that a yes?" Sakura asked as she tightened her hold ever so slightly, not wanting to startle him.

He didn't reply vocally, but Sakura felt Gaara nodding as his own hold tightened, slowly but surely relaxing into her hold.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Chapters will be getting longer soon, don't worry!  
><strong>

**And for those of you who will probably be thinking 'well, that was quick' with the whole falling in love thing... Well, if you think about it, Gaara is one of the only people who has stuck by her and has been a friend to her. I also mentioned quite a few chapters ago that he could make her blush, butterflies fill her stomach and her heart race. I know that doesn't mean you're in love, but a friend can't do that to you, can they? Not any of my friends can! Oh _and_ I mentioned quite a few things that made it a little obvious that Gaara cared for her, but considering that he's Gaara, he didn't notice these things. I hope you all did, though!**

**I forgot to mention this on chapter twenty, but I got a review from a guest. I didn't get offended by anything, because they had a fair point and stuff, but it did bug me a little. Just so you all know, Sakura isn't being an attention seeker, she doesn't get around (even though it seems that way), isn't using her friends and isn't looking for pity. There is something that is seriously wrong with her, but she just doesn't know how to tell people because she doesn't think they'd understand or believe her. You'll find out why in a few chapters!  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	22. There's Always One

**Chapter 22 – There's Always One**

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, turning this way and that to try and see every angle of her body.

Her dress was one of her mother's designs. Like Temari had suggested, Sakura had chosen a crimson coloured dress that came to mid–thigh and had long sleeves. The neckline wasn't all that high and it showed a little cleavage, but not enough to be considered trashy since the dress was pretty short. Her heels were a little dramatic (five inches), but not so high that Sakura couldn't even walk in them. They were platformed and black, though the soles of her heels were also crimson to match the dress.

She was nervous about her date with Gaara, but Sakura would be lying if she said that she wasn't so excited she was practically bouncing off of the walls. As a 'just in case' (something she had learned from Ino) Sakura had decided to wear black lacy underwear. However, _unlike_ Ino, who preferred thongs, Sakura chose to stick with her boxer–styled lacy underwear. It wasn't that she was expecting anything to happen between her and Gaara (even if a familiar heat _did _pool in her stomach at just the thought of something happening between them), okay, so maybe Sakura was hoping that he would at least kiss her, but that was it. Honestly, it was.

Thinking she was presentable, Sakura grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs. Her hair was straight, reaching mid–back and her makeup wasn't anything too much, yet it was noticeable. She was simply wearing mascara, a tiny bit of eye liner and tinted red lip gloss. Oh and foundation, of course.

Gaara was picking her up in about ten minutes, possibly less and her parents had already left to go to a different New Year's Eve party. The one she and Gaara were going to be attending was for teenagers and young adults, whereas the one her parents were going to was for adults only. Sakura didn't even want to think about the kinds of things that happened at their parties.

The moment she got to the bottom of the stairs, there was a knock on her door, making a large, yet nervous grin threaten to split her face in half. He was early! Waiting until her grin had dimmed down to a smile, Sakura opened the door, trying and failing to hide her shock.

Damn… Gaara should wear suits every day.

Like Temari had told her, he was wearing a crimson tie, but his shirt was also crimson and the rest of his suit was black. He seemed surprised by the suddenly shy smile on her face, or at least Sakura thought that it was because of her smile. Without even saying a word, Sakura locked the front door and got into his car. Part of her was glad Gaara didn't bring her flowers or anything else a first date would have, because then he wouldn't be Gaara. It would be like she was on a date with a stranger.

"Have you ever been to one of these parties before?" Gaara glanced over at her and shook his head. "Well, I'm just warning you, like you've probably seen on television shows, they like hugging people and kissing their cheeks. I don't know why they do it, but they do. So try and not get angry, because that really wouldn't go down well." Sakura smirked. "As much as I'd love to see you put a few of them in their places, we'd only get into trouble." Gaara also smirked as he turned a corner, but said nothing. "Just… whenever you feel yourself getting angry, just think about it this way: imagine you're in an important meeting and you want them all to take you seriously. I know it's not the same, not by a long shot, but you get what I mean, right? To be taken seriously, you need to be calm and collected. You can't go around yelling and screaming or hitting and intimidating people."

Gaara nodded. Her advice was actually pretty good, considering who it came from. Like him, Sakura also had a few anger issues.

"Oh and unlike the adult's party, this one will have… not great, but better music." Sakura's nose wrinkled, like something had disgusted her. "They never played _my_ favourite songs, instead choosing to play pop music or slow music." then, she smirked and turned her head to look at Gaara. "You have to dance with me at least once tonight, by the way."

His eyes widened before they narrowed. "No."

"Please?" she gave him a small smile. "I mean, unless you're planning on kissing me at midnight, I think you could at least dance with me."

_Kiss_ her? It wasn't that Gaara didn't want to, it was just that… well, he had – obviously – never kissed somebody before and he was more than aware that Sakura had. What if he made a fool of himself? Gaara tightened his hold on the steering wheel. Why the hell was he so nervous? He was Sabaku Gaara! He _never_ got nervous, especially about a girl.

"You will have to wait and see."

Sakura didn't think her heart could pound any harder or louder.

* * *

><p>The sight before her had her eyes widening, had her mouth swinging open, had her wanting to rip her own hair out! How dare they come here? How dare <em>Sakura<em> come here? Ino didn't care about the guy who was with her – although, in her opinion, he didn't belong here either.

"Ino, are you okay?"

"Of course I am!" the blonde snapped, her eyes still glued on the sight of Sakura and Gaara. "I'm a happy–go–lucky ray of fucking sunshine."

Choji frowned at the sight of her growing anger. "You do know that means you're cheerfully unconcerned about the future, right?"

"Shut up!" she yelled before downing her drink.

* * *

><p>So far, Sakura had spotted quite a few people she knew and had noticed how most of them were most definitely not happy to see her. They didn't seem bothered by Gaara's presence, which surprised them both, but a lot of them – Ino, especially – kept sending her rather hateful glares. However, Sakura refused to let it ruin her night. She was here on her first date with Gaara and he was actually <em>touching her<em>! Okay, so it was only his hand on her back, but it was pretty low down if you asked her. Cue inner fan–girl.

When one of the servants passed them, offering glasses of champagne, Sakura quickly declined, biting the inside of her cheek as she did so. As much as she knew it was wrong, she wanted to have just one glass, so Sakura was silently and extremely grateful when Gaara steered her away from the servant.

Only to gasp in surprise when she was quickly spun around to face him, his hands on her hips. Once her shock had subsided, however, Sakura found herself smirking and shaking her head as she held onto his shoulders. It was so like Gaara to not ask and instead just do it. Then again, for all she knew, he could have asked her and she hadn't heard him since it had actually taken Sakura a couple of moments to realise that it was a slow song that was playing, though that should have been obvious.

"I like this song." Sakura said softly, daring to move just a little bit closer. She noticed that Gaara tensed ever so slightly when she placed her head on his shoulder, but he didn't push her away or tell her to stop.

Gaara was silent for a few moments, listening to the song that was playing. He didn't recognise it, but he knew that it was definitely by Sia and had something to do with her love. The feeling of Sakura's arms snaking around him until they were around his neck was strange. Nobody had ever wanted to be so close to him before and knowing this, he had tried to keep as much space between them as possible, not wanting to scare her away. But Gaara hadn't been able to stop himself from touching her during the night. He was guessing that it was the dress she was wearing. It clung to her like a second skin, exaggerating her curves. The shade of it made her pale skin tone, eyes and hair colour stand out.

She looked beautiful.

And it made his heart feel strange, like it was thumping out of beat. Nobody had ever had that sort of effect on him before. Then again, nobody had ever wanted to be friends with him, or be so close to him before. Gaara felt himself relaxing around her, felt his guards lowering. He could feel himself trusting her and it scared him, it really did. What if she hurt him?

Sakura sighed as she felt the hold on her tighten, as she felt Gaara step a little closer until there was no distance between them at all. They were barely even moving to the music now, simply swaying and holding each other. It felt nice being held by Gaara. It made her feel content and relaxed and just… at peace. How long had it been since somebody just held her this way without expecting something else from her? When was the last time somebody touched her without expecting it to lead to sex?

When they stopped moving completely, Sakura lifted her head out of the crook of his neck, feeling him shiver ever so slightly when her breath washed over him. He was so close that she could feel his breath against her lips, making her eyes flicker from his lips and up to his eyes. She bit her lip, wanting nothing more than for Gaara to kiss her.

However, just as she saw him leaning in, just as his lips were about to press against hers, a hand on her shoulder spun her around roughly, almost making her headbutt Gaara and the only thing stopping Sakura from falling to the ground was his hold on her, which tightened to help keep her balance. Feeling rather annoyed that somebody had just interrupted them, Sakura glared in their direction, only for her glare to drop at the sight before her.

It was a very drunk Ino.

Oh God.

No, no, _no_!

"Interrupting, am I?" the blonde slurred, not even seeming bothered when Choji came rushing over to pull her away from them.

Gaara dropped his hands from Sakura's body when he felt that she could stand without falling.

"What do you want, Ino?" Sakura asked, feeling her unease grow as Ino completely ignored her and instead focused on Gaara.

"She'll never l–love you, you know." Ino slurred and swatted away Choji's hands as he tried to pull her away. "Oi, Choji, go stuff your face or something! Can't you see I'm talking to Gary?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "His name is Gaara, not Gary. Just go home, Ino. You're drunk."

The blonde simply ignored Sakura as she leaned towards Gaara, ignoring him as he glared and tried to move away from her like she had a disease. For all he knew, she could have one. "Y–You know… I hear a lot of things… and… her and Sasuke–kun, they're probably still together." she hiccupped. "Well not together, t–they just fuck, long and hard. N–Neither care about who they're hurting. Like when she… when she fucked Naruto and broke h–his heart. It's all one big fucking game to them both!"

By now, Sakura's face was burning with shame, embarrassment and anger and no matter how hard she tried she could still feel Gaara's questioning eyes glaring at her. How the hell did Ino know what she and Sasuke had been doing? "Why are you doing this, Ino? Just leave us alone."

Ino laughed loudly. "Oh, don't go trying to act all innocent a–and like a… like an um… a prude! That's the word. Stop trying to act like a prude!" her features twisted angrily as she stepped closer and as she did, it seemed she sobered up ever so slightly. "She'll never love you, just like Sasuke–kun will never love her. You're both deluding yourselves and neither of you belong here. Hell, she probably only invited you because she feels sorry for you."

"You've gone too far, Ino!" Choji told her angrily as he finally managed to pull her away, ignoring Ino as she stumbled in her heels. "I'm sorry, Sakura, Gaara. Just ignore her – she's always like this when she's had too much to drink."

Neither answered the Akimichi as he dragged Ino away.

"You're fucking somebody who will never love you?" Gaara suddenly asked in disbelief the moment Sakura reluctantly turned to face him. "I thought you had more dignity than that."

She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Giving her a blank stare, Gaara replied, "Really? What isn't there to know? You were always talking about wanting your friends back, but I never would have thought that you would be so desperate as to sleep with them–"

Gaara cut himself off as he caught her hand just before it slapped his face.

To say that he didn't look impressed would have been an understatement as he yanked on her wrist, roughly pulling her towards him until there was only an inch or so between their faces. "You're nothing more than a desperate slut and I was wrong to think that I could have trusted_ you._"

With that, he released her as though she had burned him before storming off and out of the building, ignoring Sakura as she called after him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Drama, drama and more drama!  
><strong>

**So... you're all going to enjoy the next chapter. Well, maybe not all of you, but most of you will. I'm actually really excited to get it posted, but I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow so that I can just tease you all with it.**

**Oh! And yes, Sasuke is being an ass, but he also has a reason for why he's acting the way he is, too. Sure, it's not as serious as Sakura's reason, but he does have one.**

**I'm trying to make it quite believable, too. There's no point in denying that our generation is pretty strange and… yuck. Well, most of the girls at my school were and had been and unlike Sakura, they didn't have any reasons for acting the way they did. They just did it because they could. I'm seventeen and I can honestly say that I've _never_ done anything like they have or do. It actually makes me quite uncomfortable!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	23. Finally Getting Answers Part 1

**Chapter 2****3**** – Finally Getting Answers**** Part 1  
><strong>

There was one place Sakura knew Gaara would visit when he was angry. In some ways, he was just like Sasuke, but in others, he was nothing like the Uchiha.

Sure enough, after over an hour or so of searching for him, Sakura found Gaara in the field by his house. Her feet were killing thanks to her heels, but Sakura ignored the pain because she knew that she needed to find Gaara, needed to sort out what Ino had fucked up. She took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving the woods that seemed to be screaming at her and demanding her attention. Sakura wasn't sure if she was just being paranoid, but she could have sworn that she saw somebody move behind one of the trees.

With her heart racing, Sakura took a calming breath and continued forward, keeping her eyes on the familiar head of messy red hair, but made sure to also keep an eye on the woods out of the corner of her eyes.

Gaara didn't acknowledge her as Sakura stepped in front of him. He kept his eyes on the sky, although they did narrow a fraction as she came into view. It was something that hadn't failed to escape her notice. Whilst it was perfectly understandable as to why he was pissed off with her, Sakura still found it annoying. She waited for a few moments, trying to find the words to say, but also waiting to see if he would say something first. After about five minutes though, it became obvious he didn't want to start the conversation.

"Gaara."

No answer.

"Don't ignore me." Sakura spoke softly, yet firmly. His eyes twitched slightly and his hands clenched into fists, but Sakura refused to back down. Even though her mind was telling her to just leave him, to let him calm down and speak to him when he was ready, Sakura refused. They needed to sort out what was wrong. She didn't want to lose him like she had lost all of her other friends. It hurt just to think about him hating her. He was too important to her. "Gaara, please, will you just listen to me?"

Again, there was no answer.

"Look," Sakura sighed with annoyance as Gaara continued to ignore her, "what happened between me and Naruto was over two years ago and what happened between me and Sasuke…" she shook her head and sat down beside Gaara with another sigh, trying to ignore the cold of the ground. "Gaara, I love Sasuke so much that it hurts… but I'm also falling in love with you."

Gaara's eyes widened as he turned and stared at Sakura in shock. However before he could say anything, Sakura spoke again.

"I want you to be able to trust me." she whispered, her eyes moving towards the ground. "I know… I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but if you just _told_ _me_ how I can start to earn it–"

The red haired boy looked over at her, his eyes guarded. "What happened to you before you left?"

Sakura's entire body tensed for a second before her eyes filled with tears. Again, Sakura averted her eyes as she glared at the ground, feeling disgusted with herself but slowly, hesitantly, she started to speak. "There had been a fight between Naruto and Sasuke, a fight over me. They weren't fighting like they usually did, they were physically attacking one another and it hurt me so much to see them hurt each other. I tried to get them to stop and eventually, they did, thanks to Sasuke's brother interfering, but Naruto's eyes were filled with so much betrayal and hurt and Sasuke's eyes were guarded as they always are. We all said some things before I stormed off.

"Nobody knows this part of the story… not even my parents, Kakashi or Tsunade–sama. I'm telling you this because I want you to know everything. I want to know that I can trust you with anything and by knowing these things, you can trust _me_. I was walking…" It suddenly became harder to breathe as Sakura continued with her story and Gaara watched her warily, listening to her story intently. "I was walking down the road; you know the one that leads straight to my house?" When Gaara nodded, Sakura continued and his entire body tensed as it felt as though someone had poured freezing water over him. "I was halfway home when I was grabbed from behind and before I could even react, I was dragged into the woods where I was beaten and… and r–raped." Her body started to shake as Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, willing for the memories to disappear. "The man… he left me in the woods thinking I was dead. At the time, I wished that I was."

Gaara's eyes were wide as he stared at Sakura. "Sakura…"

She shook her head, silently telling him that there was more. "It wasn't until after five in the morning that I finally managed to get up and drag myself home. My parents thought that I was staying over at Sasuke's with him and Naruto; they didn't ask questions since we had all been best friends since we were kids. I didn't… I didn't want to wake them," she sobbed, "I didn't want them to see or know what had happened to me. So I locked myself in my bedroom and soaked in the bath and it was like part of me was hoping if I bathed long enough, I could wash away what had happened. I didn't eat for days afterwards and I couldn't sleep properly. I could tell my mom and dad were worried, but I kept pushing them away because I was scared that they'd judge me.

"I had never felt so alone before in my entire life," Sakura whispered, tears falling from her eyes as she clutched her knees tightly against her chest. "Ino had stopped talking to me and at the time, I had no idea why. Naruto and Sasuke were both ignoring me and everyone else who I thought were my friends also avoided me." Sakura sobbed once again before speaking. "It hurt so much. I felt so down, so disgusting…"

Gaara felt his entire body fill with dread as Sakura lowered her legs and lifted her sleeves. As she did, a single, vertical slit on each wrist was revealed to him. Just the look of the scars told him how deep she had cut and he was silently surprised that she was even alive.

Sakura looked down at her scars, her expression completely empty as she did so despite the fact it felt like her heart was about to come flying out of her chest. She never showed people her scars and always kept them hidden. "I disappeared from home for about two weeks and I did some… some awful stuff with people I didn't know. My parents found me one day when they were out searching for me and brought me home, screaming at me for acting so selfishly. A couple of days later, I tried to kill myself, but my parents found me in the bath." Then, Sakura's features twisted as guilt caused her to cry out, "I still hear her scream my name at night when she has nightmares about finding me unconscious in the bath, bathing in my own blood. When my mom wakes up, the first thing she does is check on me, to make sure that I'm still there with her, that I haven't tried to leave her again.

"I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital." she told him suddenly, lowering her sleeves once again. "Whilst I was there, they diagnosed me bipolar and suicidal."

His eyes widened. "You're bipolar?"

"Yes."

"I never realised…" he mumbled.

Sakura smiled weakly at him. "Nobody did, not until it was too late. Being… Being attacked that night was the final push, though something else triggered the disorder long before it. Even after my mom saved me, I still wanted to die. I had tried starving myself, but they fed me through a drip and monitored my meals. I tried hanging myself, but they made sure somebody was watching me at all times." Sakura ran a shaking hand through her hair before wrapping her arms around herself. "I felt like I was suffocating, like I couldn't breathe. My mom… she didn't want me to come home until she knew for sure that I wouldn't try to kill myself again. I was never allowed any visitors except for my parents. I had to be watched as I ate, whilst I bathed.

"It was so hard," she whispered, the tears falling once again. "But then… the thought of breaking out of that place, of seeing the outside world and actually _feel_ the wind on my face or in my hair… it was enough to keep me going. I dreamt about getting better, getting out of there and seeing all my friends again, spending time with my family where I _don't_ have to be watched." a small smile graced her lips as Sakura looked up at the stars. "But the thing I dreamt about most was speaking to Sasuke, Naruto and Ino again. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for everything I had done to them, that I love them all so, _so_ much."

Another sob tore out of Sakura's chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Then when I finally do start to get my life back on track, when I'm finally allowed to socialise once again, I'm torn down by Ino in front of everyone." Sakura opened her eyes and looked down at the ground sadly. "It had taken me so long to work up the nerve to step out of my house, to think that it would be safe for me to do so."

"When were you discharged?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Four months after being sectioned."

He looked at her, for once lowering his guards and sharing his emotions with her. In his eyes, Sakura could see that he wanted to help her, wanted to take all her pain and hurt away and in response, she smiled.

"You should tell them." Gaara said suddenly. "Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all deserve to know."

Sakura scoffed and a bitter smile curved her lips. "Yeah, because I haven't tried so many times to explain myself to them, to apologise. Sasuke… at least he seemed to somewhat accept my apology, but he still doesn't know. I couldn't find a way to tell him. Naruto won't even look at me for longer than five seconds, let alone hear me out and every time I see Ino, she's trying to tear me down." Sakura shook her head softly. "I forgot how mean Ino could be when her anger and hatred was turned on you."

Gaara didn't reply. Instead he hesitantly moved his hand to the side until he found Sakura's. At first, she had been startled when she felt his fingers brush against hers, since he wasn't one who liked to be touched and after tonight at the party and after listening to what had happened to her, she had been certain that Gaara wouldn't want to touch her. But as his hand finally closed over hers, he gave a small, short squeeze, making it feel like a weight had been lifted off of her chest.

"Thank you." he said quietly after a couple of minutes of silence.

She looked away from the stars and over to Gaara, who was avoiding making eye contact. "Thank you for what?"

The red haired boy finally looked away and caught her gaze. "Thank you for telling me everything." Then, almost hesitantly, Gaara added, "I don't feel as alone anymore."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What?"

"There have been many times where I came close to committing suicide, but every time, my siblings would stop me. Sometimes they use words, but other times they use force."

"Gaara," she spoke his name softly and when he looked up at her, Sakura looked down at their joined hands as she asked, "if you don't mind my asking, why _are_ you so against people touching you?"

Gaara's body tensed slightly, but as he remembered how much Sakura had told him, he decided that telling her some parts of his past wouldn't be too bad. "My mother died during childbirth," he answered quietly and Sakura scooted a bit closer to hear him properly, "and my father blamed me for her death. As I grew up, my father would drink and take his anger out on me. Temari would always try to hide me during the night before he came in, even going as far as to hide me in her room, but he always found me."

Sakura squeezed his hand reassuringly and Gaara looked down at their hands, seeming almost fascinated by them before he continued. "My father had soon grown tired of trying to find me at night and made sure that Temari would no longer, in his words, 'play such childish games'. He then hit Temari, but Kankuro got involved before he could hit her again.

"After that night, both Temari and Kankuro avoided me. They would cook my meals, but otherwise tell me to go away. I grew up lonely and as I hit a certain age, my loneliness turned into anger. When my father hit me, I hit back. It didn't matter that he was so much stronger than me, I was tired of sitting around, waiting for my next beating."

Gaara seemed to take another deep breath before he spoke. "Then one day not long after my thirteenth birthday, my siblings and I woke up to find our father gone."

"Just like that? And he never tried to contact you guys?" she asked softly, her free hand tracing small patterns on his as she once again unconsciously moved a little closer, seeking his warmth as the cold air made her shiver.

"I don't know about Temari and Kankuro, but he never tried to contact me – though that's not very surprising."

Sakura smiled sadly as she hesitantly placed her head onto Gaara's shoulder. He stiffened slightly at the contact, but after a couple of moments, he started to relax. "We're a pretty messed up pair, aren't we?" she joked lightly.

Gaara looked down at the head of pastel pink hair before smirking. "We are." Then, he frowned as he looked over his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Sakura spoke quietly as she lifted her head a little and followed his glare.

"I thought I heard something." Gaara murmured to her before turning back around, only to freeze when he saw how close Sakura was. When had she gotten so close? Or, more importantly, when had her lips gotten so close to his?

It seemed as though Sakura was having the same thoughts as she looked away from his eyes to look at his lips. Her tongue wet her lips a little as Gaara moved closer, almost completely closing the distance between them. The look in her eyes was doing strange things to him, things he couldn't even understand. Hesitantly, his free hand lifted up to her face, brushing away her remaining tears. Then, his gaze drifted lower until he was looking at her full lips. As though sensing his gaze, Sakura bit her lower lip slightly, the small movement nearly causing his breath to catch.

The feeling of his lips finally pressing against hers made Sakura feel as though her body was tingling. Gaara's hand was softly cradling her head, moving it slightly for better access as he added a little more pressure to their kiss.

Her mind had come to a screeching halt the second their lips had connected. Part of her was screaming as though she was some annoying fan girl whilst the other part of her had fainted. All Sakura could actually think as she lifted her hand and grabbed the back of his head, as her lips moved against his, was that it felt right. The feeling of being caged in, of being dominated, it didn't come to her like it had with Sasuke. Whilst she knew for a fact that the Uchiha would never hurt her, he could still be a pretty dominating person and always liked to be in control. With Gaara, even though he was the same, he seemed to be taking things slowly for her, like he wasn't pressuring her into anything. It felt like he was giving just as much as he was taking, if not more.

As they parted for air, Sakura pressed her forehead against Gaara's, their breaths mingling. She couldn't stop the goofy smile that graced her lips and Gaara couldn't stop his eyes from flickering between her lips and her eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel them again.

However, the moment was ruined when he once again heard something that caused his entire body to stiffen as he pulled away and glared at nothing in particular.

"Gaara," Sakura spoke quietly, her brows knitting together as the feeling of unease washed over her like it had earlier. She tightened her hold on his hand as she followed his line of sight once again. "You're freaking me out, what are you doing?"

Gaara kept his eyes on the area whilst he answered her. "I thought I could hear something again."

Sakura slowly lowered her other hand from his hair as it joined the one holding his hand and with a gentle pull on his hand and arm, she grabbed his attention. "Let's just get out of here." she spoke quietly, making an effort to keep her voice low.

He nodded once before standing and as they walked away from the fields, their hands stayed connected. Gaara didn't even seem to notice as he tightened his hold ever so slightly and pulled her closer.

* * *

><p>As they parted to take a breath, Sakura smiled. Kissing Gaara was like nothing she had ever felt before, which was the reason why she kept kissing him, wanting to feel the same thing again and again. It was like her body was floating and honestly, this was probably the happiest she had felt in a<em> long<em> time.

He was staring at her lips again, which only made Sakura's smile widen. Apparently, Gaara enjoyed kissing her too as he once again closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers, making her heart soar as Sakura kissed him back. The hand that was resting just above her knee squeezed softly whilst the other one that was cupping her face tilted her head ever so slightly so that Gaara could deepen the kiss.

Then, Sakura felt his tongue slowly lick her bottom lip, asking for entrance. You wouldn't have thought that Gaara had had his first kiss only an hour or two ago with the way he was currently kissing her and she couldn't stop the low moan that escaped her as their tongues glided, stroking the other's in a soft caress. It seemed Gaara liked her reaction as he pressed a little harder, but at the same time, restrained himself. He wasn't so lost in the moment to forget what Sakura had told him earlier and he didn't want to push her too far, too soon.

With that thought, Gaara reluctantly pulled away before things could go too far but as he did, he couldn't help the small smirk that graced his lips when he saw her soft blush and heard her quickened breathing.

"You two are adorable!"

At the sound of the voice, both Sakura and Gaara tensed before the latter turned to glare at his sister, Temari, who was currently standing in the doorway with the biggest grin either of them had ever seen before on her face.

"What do you want?" he demanded before frowning ever so slightly at her choice of outfit. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Temari looked down at her outfit, her grin fading to a soft smile that made Sakura's breath catch at the tenderness of it, knowing immediately where she had been. Usually Temari was pretty tomboy–ish, but tonight she had really put in an effort. She was wearing a strapless, black dress that came to just above her knees and to go with the dress she had on a pair of nude heels that were at least four inches high. Her hair was in the usual style, but it seemed different somehow. Perhaps it was because of her makeup? Sakura wasn't sure, but there was only one word that came to mind as she saw the blonde.

"You look beautiful!" Sakura smiled. "Were you on a date?"

Almost immediately, Gaara frowned and when Temari _blushed_, his frown only deepened.

"Yes, I was." Temari's smile continued to soften, surprising them both. "He was so nice."

Sakura sat up straighter, but didn't move so much that Gaara's hand on her side as well as her knee could slip away. "Who is he?"

The blonde seemed hesitant as she bit her lip ever so slightly before sitting down opposite Sakura and Gaara on the other sofa. "You know him, actually." she told her slowly. "And for now, we want to keep our relationship a secret. Not only because I'm older and he's only just turned eighteen, but because we don't want people getting involved."

"I know the feeling! Having people getting involved in your business all the time pisses me off." Sakura groaned before leaning on her side against the sofa and smiling. "So if I know him and he's only just turned eighteen, I'm guessing he goes to our school, possibly in our year, too?"

This time Temari nodded and her hesitance seemed to grow. "He said you used to be friends, but then you just left and didn't tell anyone."

Immediately, Sakura sat back up, looking at Temari with wide eyes as she asked slowly, "Temari, who are you seeing?"

"Nara Shikamaru." Temari answered, but then tensed when Sakura started to laugh. Eyes narrowing and fists clenching, Temari then demanded, "And what is so funny about that?"

Gaara looked confused as he looked from Sakura to Temari, the former having stopped laughing, but still chuckling when she spoke again. "There's nothing funny about it, I–I just wouldn't have pictured _Shikamaru_ having a girlfriend. He's so lazy and everything is troublesome to him!"

Temari relaxed and couldn't help but chuckle as she leaned back against the arm rest. "Anyway, when did this," she gestured between Sakura and Gaara, smirking when the former blushed, "happen? Wasn't it your first date tonight?"

Looking up at Gaara, Sakura raised an eyebrow, not knowing how to answer the question. Yes, it had been their first date and they hadn't kissed or anything until tonight, but in a way, it felt like they had been together for a while. Lifting her legs off of Gaara's lap so that she could turn and fully face Temari, Sakura continued to think. After a couple of moments of not being able to think of anything, however, Sakura looked over her shoulder at Gaara, who looked just as thoughtful as she did.

Seeing their struggle, Temari smiled. "I understand." she told them, surprising them both. "It's kind of like that with me and Shikamaru. We met about a year ago at some café when I needed to stop off for change and he was in there waiting for a friend. After we met that day, we just started talking and things went from there. It was our first date tonight, too, but we were so comfortable with one another that it felt more like we were in a relationship, not just on a date."

"Shikamaru has always been a nice guy." Sakura smiled, her features softening as memories came to her mind. "He may be lazy, but when somebody needs him, he's always there."

"What happened between you guys?" she asked curiously, her eyebrows knitting together. "He never really told me much, just that one day it was like you were a completely different person and then a year later you disappeared. I mean, if Shikamaru and everyone else were your friends, why would you leave them?"

Finally having enough of his sister and knowing how much of a sore topic this was for Sakura, Gaara glared at her. "Enough, Temari!"

Another smirk graced her lips as Temari stood, giving them both a knowing look. "Okay, I can take a hint." she told the two as she walked over to the stairs. "And if you guys, you know, do _it_ then try to keep it down, yeah? I'd rather not hear my baby brother having sex."

Sakura wasn't sure if her face could get any redder and she didn't dare look at Gaara, who was currently glaring at his sister so intensely, Sakura was surprised Temari didn't explode into flames as she disappeared up the stairs. After a couple of moments, however, she turned to face him and smiled softly at the slightly troubled look on his face.

Raising a hand and cupping his cheek, Sakura looked at him seriously when he caught her gaze curiously. "Don't worry about what Temari said." she told him, her smile only growing as Gaara frowned. Then, her smile faded into a smirk, making his eyes narrow before Sakura moved her head forward, her teeth grazing his earlobe and sending shivers down in his spine. "When the time's right, I'll make sure I have a free house. That way, we can be as loud as we want to be."

There was a soft groan before her lips were captured in a fiery kiss that took her breath away.

* * *

><p>"What about Sasuke?"<p>

Looking over at Gaara as he grabbed them both a drink out of the fridge, Sakura frowned. She hadn't forgotten about Sasuke and after kissing Gaara the way she had, Sakura felt a little guilty. Lately, Sasuke had been so nice to her. Sure, he didn't speak to her at school, which kind of hurt, but at the same time, she could understand why. Naruto had been his best friend for such a long time and it wouldn't be fair to dump him for her. But then again… she had been both of their best friends before they were all even walking…

Taking the bottle from Gaara, Sakura crossed her legs and leaned back until her head was resting on the cupboard. "I don't know. I don't know what to do, but I know that I don't want to hurt him. Sasuke has been so kind to me, especially with letting me stay at his house for a couple of days." Sakura frowned for a moment. "Well, it was Itachi who let me stay… but you get what I mean, don't you?"

Silently, he nodded and took a slow sip of his drink before putting it down on the counter and turning to face Sakura, who was seated on the same counter. "I understand if you would rather be with him, Sasuke is your first lo–"

Her frown deepened. "Didn't you hear me earlier, Gaara? I love the both of you! I just… I don't know what to do. I'm so confused."

As Sakura placed her head into her hands and sighed, he placed his hands over hers, removing them from her face so that he could look at her. "Take all the time you need to decide, Sakura. I'll wait for you. All I ask of you is that you're completely honest with me and tell me the moment you decide."

"I don't want to hurt either of you." she whispered sadly, her forehead pressing to Gaara's as her eyes slid closed.

"I know." he said just as quietly.

He didn't want to be hurt again, either.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So nothing important happened this chapter, wouldn't you agree? ;-)  
><strong>

**So you finally know what happened! Are you happy now?**

**I wrote another story that was about bipolar disorder (**_Better In Time_**) and, like that story, I wanted to send out a message of sorts. If you can't figure out what it is right now, you'll figure it out in the next ten or so chapters. I don't know what having a mental illness is like, but I do have family members who have them and I know how serious and dangerous they can be. If you feel like I'm doing a bad job at writing Sakura with bipolar disorder as well as being suicidal and a rape victim, then please tell me!**

**Oh and for those of you who caught what Sakura said about her being raped being the final push and that something else had triggered her bipolar long before that… unless you can guess what happened, you'll find out in about six or seven chapters.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	24. Finally Getting Answers Part 2

**Chapter 24 – Finally Getting Answers Part 2  
><strong>

"What's your favourite band?"

Gaara looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it and as he did, Sakura lifted her head from his chest to look at him. It had been without words that he had asked her to stay the night. Well, more like he had glared at her when she said she would have to go soon and _then_, without words, taken her to his room, silently telling her that he would not let her out at this time of night _alone_.

"Three Days Grace." he answered after a couple of moments.

"Really?" Sakura asked. Using her forearms to hold herself up, she leaned over him so that she could see him better. "I would have thought you would be listening to something heavier and more… metal."

He simply shook his head. "What about you?"

"Thirty Seconds to Mars." Sakura answered without having to think about it. "I've loved them for years."

"Good choice." he commented.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura lowered herself against him, her head resting on his chest. The sound of his steady heartbeat relaxed her and made her close her eyes in content, a soft sigh escaping her when she felt his arms hesitantly wrapping around her. His hesitance wasn't exactly uncalled for, so Sakura didn't bother telling him he didn't need to be so hesitant with her. Instead, she snuggled against him, inwardly giggling at the thought of Gaara being the type who cuddled as he certainly didn't seem it.

Then, the sound of moaning caused her eyes to widen. "What the…"

It seemed Gaara wasn't too surprised, although the back of his neck (which was thankfully hidden from view due to his position and the dark) burned at the sound. "It seems Kankuro brought home a girl."

Sakura couldn't help but blush as the moaning grew louder. "Um…" she mumbled awkwardly, burying her face into his chest. "Do you usually… just have to… you know… lay here and listen?"

Gaara shook his head. "I normally put my earphones on."

Which wouldn't be fair of him to do now, considering there were two of them and Sakura would be left to listen to Kankuro and his date.

"Oh." she replied before shifting ever so slightly.

Whilst Sakura was by no means a voyeur, she _was _human and the sound of pleasure was causing her cheeks to burn as well as a familiar, flickering fire within her coming to life and it didn't help that she was laying pretty much on top of Gaara. She wanted to talk to him, to try and drown out the moans and grunts, but she was worried her voice would fail her. How Gaara wasn't affected by the sounds was beyond her.

After shifting for the seventh time, it seemed Gaara had realised what was wrong. "The walls are quite thin… are they making you uncomfortable?"

Perhaps not.

How could she tell him that it was turning her on? How could she tell Gaara that she wanted him to make her moan like the woman next door? Sakura almost groaned as the image came to her, torturing her with the sight of Gaara on top of her, below her, behind her, _inside_ of her. Swallowing hard, Sakura shook her head but kept it against his chest, refusing to look up at him.

"Nope."

With a sigh, Gaara lifted her head with his hands, only to pause at the lustful gaze in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks. "They're–"

Sakura groaned with humiliation. "I know. I'm a disgusting pervert!"

Chuckling, Gaara pulled her up so that her lips were barely an inch from his. It surprised him that she would be turned on, especially since he thought that, like other rape victims, she would be uncomfortable around such things. But then just as he thought that, what she had said earlier came to mind, the part about disappearing for two weeks and doing things with people she didn't know. He had heard that some rape victims often tried to push away their pain by sleeping with another, or something along those lines, but he didn't know if that was true or not. Either way, he wasn't going to risk hurting her.

"Hardly," he murmured against her lips. "It just makes you human."

She bit her lip softly at the look in his eyes. "I know what you're thinking." she mumbled just as quietly, her eyes lowering so that they weren't connected with his. "After what I told you, you expect me to be all… I don't know… you expect me _not_ to feel comfortable being intimate with someone. The truth is… I just…" she groaned and pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes. "I can't explain it. It's like I just… shut off during sex. It's like I sort of know it's happening, but I'm not actually experiencing it. Instead it's kind of like I just…"

"You detach your mind." Gaara finished for her, finally understanding what she was trying to explain.

"I guess." Sakura replied awkwardly before sighing. "I still – _obviously_ – get turned on and everything, but the moment someone's… you know… _inside_ me," both shifted slightly at her words, "it's like I shut off."

He couldn't help it. He had to feel her lips against his and if her reaction was anything to go by, she felt the same. It didn't turn him on hearing that, but it had when she said the words 'inside me'. That had been what done it for him and as she said it, his mind had filled with images of _him_ inside of her, of _him_ making her scream _his_ name. However, just as her hand started to descend towards his pants, Gaara caught her wrist. "Not tonight." he whispered breathlessly against her lips. "I'd rather our first time together be… without those two next door and my sister down the hall."

Sakura smiled against his lips and when they parted, she nodded. "You're right."

It made her heart warm that he didn't want to rush what was growing between them, that he wanted to make their first time together special and not a quickie. Not only that, but Sakura didn't want him to feel as though he had to compete with Kankuro next door. It had been half an hour and the woman was still moaning rather loudly. Since it would be Gaara's first time, _their_ first time wouldn't last as long unless he had a high sex–drive and amazing stamina.

"But?"

Her smile grew impish as she moved until she was completely on top of him, her body melting into his. "But I still want to make out, even if we don't go any further than that."

Well he couldn't argue with that.

Pressing his lips to hers, Gaara quickly rolled them over so that he was on top and in response to his act of dominance, Sakura gasped softly before kissing him with a new vigour. If he was completely honest, Gaara would say that it was a little hard to keep up with her experienced mouth, but he made up for it by running his hands through her hair, over her jaw, along her neck, down her arms and up her sides.

The moans next door turned into screams, but neither could hear them anymore as Sakura fisted her hand in his hair whilst her other arm wrapped around his shoulders, pressing Gaara to her tightly. Her hips were rolling against his softly, but since he was straddling her hips, he was the only one who experienced the feeling of pleasure shooting down his spine when she continuously brushed against his groin.

He growled lowly, the sound making Sakura shiver whilst the way his tongue stroked hers caused her to moan. However, before they could continue, Sakura pushed against his chest, making him pull back until he was on his knees, panting for breath. He was about to ask her if she wanted to stop when Sakura followed him, her hands going straight to the hem of his shirt and pulling on it until the shirt was thrown across the room.

"Much better," Sakura smirked before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his chest, earning a sigh from Gaara as he closed his eyes.

"We're not… moving too fast for you, are we?"

Despite enjoying the feeling, Gaara couldn't help but feel a little concerned. He had never seen this side of Sakura before, so he wasn't all too sure what to expect. In fact, he had never seen this side to _anybody_ before, so he had _no idea_ what to expect. Unlike his older brother, Gaara didn't sleep around and he found the idea of watching others having sex awkward and uncomfortable. He tried it once, but it had seemed so fake to him and the fact they had allowed somebody to record them made him think that it was meaningless, which would definitely not pleasure him. He wasn't saying that he wasn't like other guys, because there had been times when he masturbated (he was a guy, after all) but it had never been to watching or listening to people having sex. Just his thoughts and imagination.

Sakura shook her head and between kisses against his chest that made Gaara's breathing grow shallow, she whispered breathlessly, "No, not at all."

In response, Gaara lowered her back down to the bed but before he could straddle her again, Sakura quickly parted her legs, which, whilst made him a little uncertain, he couldn't deny that it felt good and neither could stop the moans that escaped them as he pressed against her, hers drowning out his.

"Gaara," she breathed, her hands running up his back and into his hair again, "don't be so hesitant. I _want_ this. _I_ _want you_."

Reminding himself that they weren't going to have sex was growing increasingly hard as his erection pressed against the apex of her thighs and with each roll of her hips, her soft gasps turned into moans. With each roll of her hips, she pressed herself even harder against him, making him grunt as he focused hard on _not_ exploding in his pants at the feeling. Damn, what was she doing to him? They weren't even having sex and she was barely even touching him, but he was close to an orgasm already!

"Touch me." Sakura whispered when they once again parted for air.

At her soft words, Gaara paused before murmuring, "Open your eyes."

When she did, they were clouded with lust, but still focused, telling him that she was still with him. His words seemed to have made her happy as her eyes warmed before her hold loosened ever so slightly.

Seeing that she was still with him and hadn't detached her mind, Gaara leaned onto his elbow before softly cupping her breast, watching her with fascination as Sakura arched into his touch and bit her lip. The sight made his already throbbing member ache all the more, especially when she whispered his name breathlessly. Feeling the need to see her, Gaara's hand slipped away from her breast and towards the buttons of the shirt she was wearing. It was one of his old nightshirts, but it fit her well enough and reached mid–thigh, which was good because he didn't have any shorts that fit her and his sister didn't either. And, at her request, it was a long sleeved shirt so that it hid her scars and most of her hands.

Once it was unbuttoned, Gaara pushed it aside and the sight of her breasts caused his breath to catch before he was stroking them, his fingers moving along the edges of her bra and making Sakura tremble.

"Gaara," she moaned, her back arching further into his teasing touch that was making her skin tingle, "I need more."

He looked into her eyes a moment after he was pressing his lips to her breasts, kissing the left one softly whilst his hand fondled the right. He could feel her erratic heartbeat, but the sounds she was making stopped him from being able to hear it properly.

Closing her eyes, Sakura bit her lip, her hips bucking as her body sought the thing it knew would bring the pleasure she was suddenly craving. Enjoying the reaction he was getting, Gaara's kisses grew more passionate before he growled. Her stupid bra was blocking most of her breasts and he wanted nothing more than to rip the damned thing off of her body!

Feeling that he had stopped, Sakura opened her eyes and she couldn't help but giggle at the annoyed look he was giving her bra before she grabbed his hand, guiding it over her body until together they found the front clasp that held the bra together. She had always found those kinds of bras easier to put on, especially when she was rushing in the mornings.

Her hands still on his, Sakura slowly helped him with undoing her bra, their eyes locked as she did. It was only when the bra was undone that Gaara finally tore his eyes from hers, looking down at her breasts and groaning before his lips descended to one, his tongue swirling around her areola. He was going on instinct alone, on what he wanted to touch, to taste, and apparently he was doing it right, if the way Sakura threw her head and her moans growing in volume were anything to go by.

She tasted delicious, Gaara thought as he flicked his tongue over her hardened nipple before taking it into his mouth. It was like he couldn't get enough of her! So that her other breast wasn't left out, Gaara pulled his mouth away before kissing his way over to it and giving it the same treatment. However, even though her hand was fisted in his hair and pressing him closer to her, Gaara could tell by the way her hips were moving against his that she was impatient, that her body was demanding more because his was, too.

The thought made him a little unsure. Touching her breasts was one thing, but should he go further? Would it be appropriate for him to do so? Sakura seemed so lost in the moment and the pleasure that she wasn't even thinking clearly. Would it be right of him to touch her in her most private area?

Again, sensing his hesitance, Sakura opened her eyes and looked at him with glazed over confusion. "Is something wrong, Gaara?"

He frowned before moving back up to her lips, but instead of kissing her, he stared into her eyes, trying to tell if they were clouded with lust or with detachment. Because of his own arousal, it was getting harder to tell the difference and he wanted to be absolutely sure before touching her _there_. If he did and she had detached her mind, Gaara knew he would think of himself as no better than the man who had abused her.

"Do you want to go any further?"

Like earlier, her eyes softened and Gaara could instantly tell that it had only been lust clouding them. So had her words been correct? Was it only when a man was inside of her that she detached her mind? The thought of somebody that wasn't him inside of her made him want to hit something, but his arousal was much stronger than the anger and jealousy so they were easy to push aside.

There was a moment of silence before Sakura took the hand that was still cupping her breast. Her eyes gazed down at his mouth and when she pressed her lips to his, her hand slowly lowered, tracing across her flat stomach until they were at the waistband of her lacy, boy–cut underwear. It surprised him that she wore them, as she seemed more the type to wear girly underwear, but those thoughts disappeared as their hands did.

A quivering moan came from Sakura as she guided his fingers over her lips, showing him how she liked to be touched and in response to touching her, Gaara groaned.

"_Fuck_," he grunted against her lips as they parted and he pressed his forehead against hers, his own hips bucking, "you're practically dripping, Sakura."

The only response he received was another moan and her hips lifting to press harder against his fingers, begging to feel more of him. He knew a little of what to do, but since he had never done anything such as this before he was a little unsure, so allowed Sakura's hand to continue to guide him. After a couple of moments, however, Gaara decided to explore by himself, his fingers stroking her softly before adding a little more pressure. Her hips lifted once again as she whimpered, the sound of it causing his eyes to search her face for any signs of discomfort, but all he found was pleasure and by the look on her face, he guessed it was intense. Perhaps she was sensitive down there?

Liking her reaction, Gaara moved his finger further, pausing as he found the source of her wetness because of the loud cry of pleasure that suddenly erupted from Sakura, surprising him. She was so responsive to his inexperienced touches that it made his male pride soar! Wanting to hear more, he rubbed her in a circular motion with a little more pressure than before and in response, Sakura threw her head back and made more of the moans that Gaara now thought were the best sounds that he had ever heard.

Against his sides, he noticed that her legs were quivering and when he increased his speed, they trembled all the more but when he pressed harder, her hips lifted off of the bed, practically begging him to add even more pressure. And even though he was the one pleasing her, his breathing was just as heavy against her lips. It was like the sight of her, the sound of her and the feeling of her right now brought _him_ pleasure.

A question came to his mind as he slowly traced her opening, causing Sakura to breathlessly moan once again, and that question was: by inside of her, did that also go for his fingers, too? Gaara couldn't find the words to ask her, knowing that they would be awkward and might even turn her _off_.

"Open your eyes." Gaara repeated his earlier demand and when she did, he made sure to keep their gazes locked as he slowly, hesitantly, slipped one finger inside of her. Whilst he exhaled shakily at the feeling of being enveloped by warm and silky wetness (and secretly wondering how it would feel to have a different part of his body there), Sakura shuddered against him, her insides pulsing rhythmically around his single digit.

Her eyes were still, whilst not completely focused, still focused enough for it to be obvious that her mind wasn't detached and he found himself feeling grateful, for Gaara didn't know if he would be able to remove himself from her now, not when it felt so… so _right__. _She looked so beautiful right now that it made him wish the moment would never end.

Before he could even react, Sakura was kissing him again whilst rocking her hips against his finger, silently demanding more. Giving her what she wanted, he slipped in another finger, but decided that it would be best not to push his luck, so left it at only his ring and middle finger. Going with the rhythm of her rocking hips, Gaara slowly pulled his fingers back before thrusting them in again and repeating his actions as her moans increased. Whilst doing this, the heel of his hand grazed and rubbed against her clitoris and the higher pitch that suddenly entered her voice caused him to break their kiss so that he could watch her expression.

Continuing with what had just caused her to cry out like she did Gaara watched her expression and emotions. Her face was scrunched up in a look that was almost like pain, but it was much sexier in his opinion and every so often, Sakura would bite her lip and thrust her hips particularly hard against his fingers. He was surprised when she cried out words like 'faster', but he did as she asked and watched as it drove her crazy, as her hips squirmed beneath him.

Then, it seemed like Sakura just came… _undone_.

Her entire body shuddered and this time, her moans grew not only in volume, but also pitch as her inner walls clamped tightly around his fingers a couple of moments before he felt his fingers and hand grow even wetter than just her arousal, which caused his eyes to widen. He knew that he had just made her orgasm, but he could barely believe it. Had he really done that with just two of his _inexperienced_ fingers? Just how sensitive was her body?

After a couple of minutes, Sakura started to come down from her high as she panted for breath. Her hips were still bucking every couple of seconds, but they too calmed when her orgasm subsided. Slowly, he removed his fingers from inside of her, rubbing them on his pants since he didn't know what else to do. There had been a moment of hesitation, a moment where he thought about licking her juices off his fingers, but Gaara decided against it, thinking that perhaps it would be going too far to actually taste her.

Just as Gaara was about to say something, Sakura flipped them over, pinning him to the bed and he could only watch in stunned silence as she lowered her own hand into his pants. His breath caught as the tips of her fingers grazed his throbbing member, but instead of touching him, her hand vanished from his pants only for them to be pulled down over his hips so that his erection was freed. Once the strain of his pants was gone, Gaara breathed a sigh, enjoying the feeling.

That was until he felt a hand wrap around him and he hissed.

His hands fisted in the sheets as intense pleasure shot up and down his spine. Nobody had ever touched him there before and despite the feelings he was currently experiencing, Gaara could feel a small anxiety stirring within him. After hearing about Sakura's past lovers (Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto), Gaara couldn't help but wonder if she was disappointed with what she saw, especially as she paused.

"I always thought that you dyed your hair, since it's so… red." Sakura murmured as she came back up to his lips, her hand still holding his erection and her bare chest brushing against his ever so slightly. "But it seems you're a natural redhead."

If he hadn't been trying to so hard not to blow, Gaara would have scoffed at her comment. So _that_ had been the reason why she had stopped? Now he just thought of himself as foolish! Besides, why should he be worried about how he compared to Uzumaki and Uchiha? One of them was an idiot whilst the other was an asshole.

"I didn't think you would be this big," she whispered huskily into his ear, her teeth grazing it as she did, "I can't wait to feel you _inside_ me."

Where the hell had _that_ come from? Was she trying to talk dirty to him? Just as he was about to say something, his breath caught in his throat as Sakura stroked his member, her actions just as bold as her voice. Her grip was tight and firm, but it didn't cause any discomfort.

Then, as though the pleasure he was already experiencing wasn't enough, Sakura blew against a sensitive spot on his neck before lowering her lips to the same place and kissing him. Her kisses were hungry, bordering desperate, but Gaara barely even noticed the change as she increased her pace, as she ran her thumb over his tip and smeared the pre–come that had been seeping out.

It seemed as though he couldn't even control his actions as he bucked against her hold, a shuddering groan of pleasure escaping him. Leaning back against his pillow, Gaara shut his eyes and just allowed himself to _feel_ and because of his new position, Sakura moved her kisses to his collarbone, slowly trailing to his chest.

And then, an intense feeling washed over him, causing his eyes to snap open, but he could see nothing. His body was trembling as Sakura helped him ride out his orgasm, her hold growing softer and more gentle. When the feeling started to fade, Gaara unclenched his fists from his bed sheets and released a slow exhale. However, as he looked down at Sakura's hand, he frowned.

"Sorry." he mumbled tiredly.

Sakura only smirked as she threw a leg over his body, seeming to enjoy the lightly sweating sight of him as she eyed him hungrily. "Don't be." her voice was still husky, still low and seductive and Gaara felt himself shiver in response.

Looking up at her face, Gaara's eyes locked with hers, but they widened as she raised the hand coated with his seed to her mouth. He quickly caught her wrist and whilst he wanted to see what she had been planning, the look in her eyes was… detached. "Stop, Sakura." Gaara told her softly before lowering her hand and wiping it on his pants as he completely removed them and sat up.

"D–Did I do something wrong?"

The worried, pained sound in her voice caused him to pause on his way to his dresser as he went to grab a clean pair of pants. It made his gut twist almost painfully hearing that tone and Gaara couldn't help but wonder what happened to her during the weeks she disappeared from her home. Once he had some pants on, Gaara looked over at her trembling form and found himself growing even angrier at the man who had abused her and not only him, but whatever men had abused her during those two weeks.

Making his way back over to the bed, Gaara tried to think of when she must have detached her mind. Had it been when he slipped his fingers inside of her and she threw her head back, causing him to no longer see her eyes? Had it been when he made her orgasm? His thoughts stopped for a moment. It must have been then because once she had calmed down it was like Sakura had become a completely different person. Yes, she had been confident about her actions before then, but after her orgasm, her movements became bolder, much more seductive. Also, she had started talking dirty to him, whispering about how big he was and how right it felt to be holding him, how she wanted him inside of her.

Gaara closed his eyes and sighed once he was sat beside her on the bed. Sakura was refusing to look at him, choosing instead to keep her eyes on her legs as she continued to shake. The moment he raised his hand to push back the hair in her eyes, the way she flinched made him… it made him _hurt_. It caused his heart to clench painfully as he watched her squeeze her eyes shut and close in on herself, as he watched her grimace as though expecting him to hit her.

A couple of moments later, when Sakura realised she wasn't going to be hit, her eyes blinked open, slowly looking up with her confusion obvious and when she saw Gaara looking at her with unreadable eyes, her eyes widened. "G–Gaara?"

"You detached your mind, Sakura." he told her softly, his soft tone surprising him, but only briefly. Gaara knew that, right now, Sakura needed him to stay calm and not speak to her in his usual dark tone. "When I noticed, I told you to stop and you asked me what you did wrong. The moment I went to touch you, though, you flinched like I was going to hit you."

She was shaking again, but this time, it was because of her tears. "I'm sorry. I–I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

Shaking his head, Gaara caught her chin and turned her face so that she was looking at him. "We both knew that it was a possibility." he told her, inwardly sighing with relief as he felt Sakura relax. "I'm not mad and I think I know what caused you to detach your mind."

Her eyes snapped up to his face, having looked down at his lap. "You do? W–What was it?"

The back of his neck was burning, but Gaara refused to allow himself to show his nervousness. "After your orgasm, it was like you became a different person, but I didn't notice until after…"

"It's okay." she whispered when he trailed off and moved closer to him, taking the hand that wasn't touching her face and holding it between the both of hers. "Please don't feel guilty, Gaara, because you don't need to. I know for a fact I wasn't detached during _that_." Sakura smirked, her cheeks blushing as she recalled the amazing feeling (it was the first time in a long time that she actually felt her orgasm, even if it did stop halfway through). Biting her lip softly, she looked into his eyes again. "It must have been before I returned the favour."

"Sakura," Gaara's voice was just as soft as hers as he stroked her cheek, "what happened during those two weeks?"

And just like that, her entire body stiffened, making him eye her carefully as he wondered if she was about to breakdown. However, instead of crying, Sakura took a deep breath before speaking. "Most of that time was a blur, since I was always drinking from the moment I woke up until the moment I passed out." her eyes closed as she felt her shame growing. "The first day, however, I remember clearly. I had been walking down the street just… wandering. I didn't have a clue where I was going and then a man approached me, asking if I was okay.

"He was_ so_ nice to me." she whispered, her body shaking slightly. "He made me feel like I could trust him with anything and that he cared about me, especially when he bought me lunch and offered to buy me new clothes, since mine were dirty and disgusting." Gaara moved them back to the top of the bed and Sakura rested her head against the headboard, her eyes looking up at the ceiling with a mixture of sadness and anger. "I know now that it was stupid to trust a stranger like I did, but… you have to remember that I wasn't thinking clearly. It had been a few days since I was… and my mind was playing tricks on me."

He listened silently, just holding her hand as Sakura watched the ceiling as though too ashamed of herself to meet his eyes. Gaara wanted nothing more than to grab her chin again and force her to look at him, but he knew that by doing so, it could make speaking of these things just that much harder. Earlier that evening, she had told him that nobody else knew this side of the story and by the looks of things Gaara was certain she had been bottling it all up for far too long. And considering what he did when he snapped…

"When he found out that I didn't have a place to stay, he told me that I could stay with him and since I thought he was the only one who cared at the time, I went with him. I can't remember lunch or shopping or the drive there, but I can remember reaching the place and thinking '_wow_'. It wasn't his home, but he lived there, said that his boss owned the place and let his workers stay there." there was a tremble that very faintly shook the bed before she continued. "The first couple of hours had been… not perfect, but nice enough. He left me alone for the first hour, allowing me to bathe in private before dressing and finding him in his bedroom.

"I–It was like something snapped in him." she whispered harshly, her hand tightened around his, wanting to clench into a fist like her other hand had. "He wasn't the man I met earlier that day… he was… he was evil… and it was obvious that something wasn't right with him. Even when… when he was pinning me down on the bed… he was telling me I was beautiful and that… that he couldn't wait to break me." a bitter chuckle escaped her lips as Sakura quickly wiped her eyes, catching her tears before they started to fall. "That bastard didn't even notice that I was already broken."

Gaara's hold on her hand tightened, not liking the look of pain and self–disgust in her eyes. Listening to her story made his blood boil, made him want to lash out, made him want to find the men who had hurt her and rip them to shreds, _all _of the men who had hurt her. Instead, Gaara took a deep breath, remembering her words from earlier that night at the party when she told him that to be treated like an adult and wanting to his opinion heard, then he must act like an adult and not let his anger take over him. Sakura needed him to be calm right now. She needed him to listen.

The look in her eyes only multiplied at her next words. "I–I could have… I could have stopped him." Sakura suddenly told him, earning herself a shocked look on his usually impassive face. "There were scissors beside his bed… I don't know what for… but they were there and I could have used them. The thought passed through my mind just to grab them whilst he was too preoccupied with touching me… but… I couldn't. _I couldn't_."

Her words were starting to waver as her shaking grew and this time, Gaara couldn't help but pull her against him and the moment he did, her shaking increased as he felt his chest grow wet with her tears. When he felt this, Gaara tightened his hold around her and whilst it was still strange to have somebody so close to him, he couldn't deny that he liked feeling Sakura in his arms. He liked that she trusted him enough to tell him these things.

"I couldn't hurt him." she whimpered into his chest. "I wanted to. I wanted to hurt him _so fucking bad_ that afterwards, I was shaking with the need. But at the time I couldn't make my body move. It was like I wasn't even in control anymore, like I was simply watching it all happen from another's point of view. Inwardly I was screaming at myself, especially when I saw myself responding to his touches like I _enjoyed_ them."

"It was the first time you detached your mind." Gaara mumbled, though his voice sounded more like a rumble since her head was on his chest.

She nodded weakly. "After that… I started drinking heavily. I tried blocking everything out so that it would all be just a blur. More men came by, even some women, but I can barely remember a thing except that it was painful. I think," her face scrunched up for a moment before she released a shaky, uneven breath, "I think that's the worst part. That I _don't_ know what happened to me. I want to know… but at the same time… I'm… I'm _scared_." once again, his hold tightened. "It was around two weeks later when my mind completely snapped and I just left.

"I walked for hours, but I couldn't even feel the cold. It was snowing and despite that, I felt like I was burning up, like I was sitting too close to a fire. That's one of the signs… by the way." Sakura told him a little awkwardly. "When I can't feel the cold… it's one of the many signs I'm entering one of my episodes. I'm not too sure though… it's a little different every time." continuing with her story, Sakura took another deep breath. "It had been night when I left… when I knew everyone would be asleep and I didn't reach town until morning. It had taken me over eight hours, but it was like… like I just couldn't stop myself to take a break – it didn't even feel like I needed one.

"That's when my parents found me. They had been shocked at my beat up appearance, my smudged makeup and dishevelled hair, the short dress and the ridiculously high heels that I could barely even walk in. I reeked of stale alcohol and sex, too, so they jumped to conclusions. I remember my mom looking at me… and I just thought… '_I've really disappointed her, haven't I_?'. It hurt so much and I couldn't even look at my dad, knowing that he would be seeing me in a completely different light, like I wasn't his little girl anymore. I was just some whore who looked like her. An hour later, we were at home and I was sat on the sofa, my mom yelling and screaming at me that my actions were reckless, stupid and selfish, but instead of yelling back like I usually do… I just… I just stared. I couldn't even bring myself to raise a finger or even mutter something to her.

"I can't remember much… but I remember my parents both demanding that I do a drugs test, since I apparently looked out of it. I think that's when I finally broke. I can remember trashing the house, throwing my mom's ornaments at the walls, smashing things, tearing things. Hell, I even ripped the fucking _curtains_ from the rails and _stomped _on them." her eyes were closed again as Sakura relived the awful memories burned into her mind. "I had never seen them look so… so scared before… well, _before_ I tried to kill myself I hadn't."

Fidgeting with the string on Gaara's pants, Sakura opened her eyes, but didn't meet his gaze. "It was after I threw my heels at the television, close to where my mom was standing, that my dad finally stepped in, pinning me down to the ground with my arms locked behind me and his hand pressing to the back of my neck and when he did, my mind detached itself and I just… went limp." her hands shook ever so slightly. "I remember hearing my mom screaming at my dad to get off me, that I had gone too quiet. My dad told me later that there was a moment when he thought he had killed me by accidentally using too much force or something, but when they saw the look in my eyes, that's when they knew. That was when they realised that something wasn't right, that something bad had happened."

Shifting ever so slightly, Sakura bit her lip before talking again. It was like she couldn't shut herself up, but at the same time, it felt nice to finally have somebody to talk to. "I locked myself in my room, ignoring them both whenever they attempted to talk to me. I refused any food that was brought to me and at one point, my dad tried force feeding me, literally pinning me down and _shoving_ food into my mouth, but my mom starting yelling at him the moment she found us, screaming that he was making things worse." her lips started trembling as her eyes watered once again. "I was a strain on their relationship… they barely even spoke to each other anymore and when they did, they were arguing and every time they argued, it was always about me.

"I heard them arguing one night and it got so loud that I couldn't even think. It felt like everything was spinning… like I wasn't in control of anything, even my own mind. I just wanted it all to _stop_! I just wanted everything to be the way it used to be." her tears finally started to fall once again as Sakura closed her eyes. "I locked my bedroom door and wrote a note to my parents, telling them how sorry I was and to pass on my apologies and love to my friends, to Ino, Sasuke and Naruto… especially to Naruto."

There was a long pause and Gaara almost thought that she might have fallen asleep (though he very much doubted it because of their current conversation). However when he tilted his head to the side and brushed her hair away from her face, he saw that Sakura was still awake and looking as though she was simply thinking carefully about her next words. By this time, the sun was starting to rise, but only a small slither of light shone through the curtains and that was only because he hadn't shut them properly.

"I can remember every single detail about my first attempt." she told him after a couple of minutes, her voice quiet. "After I wrote the note, I ran a bath, not bothering to completely dress down since I knew I would be found sooner or later. And… because… I didn't want to have to hear their arguments whilst I was… I was…" she shook her head, seeming unable to say the word 'dying'. "After placing the note on my bed, I moved the docking station from my bedroom into the bathroom so that I could drown out their screaming.

"It hurt…" she whispered, one of her hands moving away and running a finger along one of her scars. "…but after a couple of moments, I just laid back… the feeling of drifting off, listening to my favourite band… at the time it had felt like the best way to… to go. It had felt like such a relief. But the feeling ended too soon."

Her features scrunched up as her hold suddenly tightened, squeezing her arm, but Gaara grabbed her hand, slowly forcing each and every finger to release its hold. Closing her eyes, Sakura thought back to that night. "I could vaguely hear the sound of somebody breaking into my room, hear the sound of crying when my parents found the note… but all I could think was '_just let me die, please, don't take this away from me_'. My selfish request went ignored though when I heard them suddenly slamming against the bathroom door, but I could barely even hear them by that time since I was underwater and my music was playing, repeating the words in my mind even when the song had finished… and I could feel myself growing weaker.

"I was barely even conscious when they finally got into the bathroom, but I could still hear my mother's screams, my father's yells for her to ring an ambulance. But she didn't listen to him… instead she was the one dragging me out of the bath… dropping with me to the ground and holding me tightly… she was crying and whispering my name over and over again, begging me to wake up. I ignored her though and hoped that death would come quick, so that I wouldn't have to listen to her any longer."

Wiping a hand over her face, Sakura relaxed completely against Gaara, who made his hold slacken a little so that she could get more comfortable. "You should try and get some sleep." he told her quietly. "You're worn out."

She shook her head. "What about you?"

"Insomniac," Gaara spoke before he could even stop himself.

Mumbling tiredly against his chest, Sakura nodded. "Mm, I know the feeling. 'Cause of being bipolar… I sometimes suffer from insomnia too…"

Tightening his arms, Gaara sighed. "Sleep, Sakura."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

He nodded as he lifted Sakura ever so slightly and fastened her bra and the buttons on her – _his_ – nightshirt (since they had forgotten about it) before they both got under the sheets. Just as she was about to drift off, Gaara's soft voice whispered in her ear, bringing a smile to her face.

"Always."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Okay so I had this massive rant going on and on in my head and now I can't remember a single word of what I wanted to say or what it had been about. I hate it when that happens! It's like going all the way downstairs only to forget what you wanted, going back up the stairs and then remembering. It's so frustrating! **

**I got quite a few reviews telling me that if Sakura was a victim of rape, she wouldn't want to have sex with people or be touched by men. However, what some of you are forgetting is that not all rape victims react to what happened the same way. You'll find out later why Sakura acts the she does, unless you already figured it out.**

**Am I the only one who is freaking out for tomorrow's episode? I don't care if it's filler. It's _Uchiha fucking Itachi_. And Kakashi. I just. I can't.**

**As you can probably already tell, I suck at talking dirty. I've never really tried, to be honest and I don't really think Gaara's the type to talk dirty. Although... I really wouldn't mind if he did. He's got a hot voice (the Japanese Gaara, not the English dub version). Do any of you watch the English dub? I tried it before, but their voices are just... awful! Especially Naruto's.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	25. A Chilling Encounter

**Chapter 2****5 ****–**** A Chilling Encounter**

"So," Kankuro grinned wolfishly as Gaara entered the kitchen, "who was she? Whoever you had in your room last night sure was _vocal_ and here I thought you were still a virgin! I might have to ask for some tips."

Gaara paused and stared with wide eyes at the sight of his two siblings sitting at the table and a moment later, Sakura entered the kitchen, still wearing only Gaara's nightshirt and her lacy boy–cut shorts. Like Gaara, she also froze, especially after hearing Kankuro's comment.

"Y–_Y__ou_?" Kankuro asked in disbelief, looking up at Gaara with shock. "You managed to get _Haruno_ _Sakura_ in your bed when I couldn't?"

Breaking out of his trance, Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously and at his glare, Kankuro shuddered and quickly averted his eyes. "Don't speak about her like that." he spat, looking at his brother with disdain.

"I thought you said they were out?" Sakura mumbled from beside him, her features showing how uncomfortable she felt as she looked at Temari, who was drinking her coffee like she didn't have a care in the world, and Kankuro, who was obviously trying his best not to look at them. "I–I'm sorry," she told them both, surprising them all, "if I had known you were both in, I would have… um… dressed more appropriately?"

Temari waved a dismissive hand. "It doesn't bother me, so don't worry about it. Besides, Kankuro's ex–girlfriends' walked around in less, so just as long as you have your underwear on and you guys don't end up having sex anywhere other than Gaara's bedroom, I don't care."

Sakura's blush darkened as she fidgeted with the hem of the shirt and seeing her discomfort, Gaara found himself feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Sakura – I really thought they had left. I heard a car leaving this morning and thought it was them." his words seemed to completely shock Kankuro, but Temari simply smiled as she took another swig of her coffee. "One second." he muttered to her before disappearing for only a moment before he returned. "Put this on."

She looked at the black robe he was handing to her, admiring the blood red kanji on the back, only for her eyes to widen as she recognised it and looked up at him. "It matches the tattoo on your forehead!"

Gaara rolled his eyes before moving further into the kitchen. "It was a gift from Temari. Just put it on."

It was a gift he had never worn before. Temari had thought that she was doing something nice for him, getting a robe custom–made with the kanji on the back, but she had discovered later when she had given him the gift that he hadn't like it. Not one bit. In fact, Gaara had refused to speak to anyone for an entire week after he was given the birthday present. Despite that, though, nobody had thrown it out. It had simply been left on the side, completely ignored and forgotten.

Doing as he said, Sakura quickly covered her body, tying the sash around her waist. She instantly felt more comfortable now that she wasn't half–naked.

"I thought I told you two to keep it down." Temari suddenly grumbled against her mug as Sakura sat down beside Gaara, her cheeks burning still from their previous comments.

Gaara rolled his eyes again. "That wasn't us."

At his words, Kankuro also rolled his eyes as he snorted, but it was Temari who spoke. "Yeah, he and whoever he brought home last night may have been loud, but you two were even _louder_! I hardly got any sleep last night and now I think I'm scarred for life."

"We didn't have sex!" Sakura quickly blurted out, causing Temari to spit out her coffee and Kankuro to choke on his toast whilst Gaara gave her the 'are–you–stupid' look.

"Gaara…" Kankuro mumbled, seeming utterly shocked before he looked at his brother with a proud expression. "Wow. Man, I don't even know what to say. Well, actually, I think I do." he looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds, as though he was choosing his words carefully before asking, "What _did_ you do to make her scream that loud? Well, unless you guys were trying to compete with me and my date?" he winked at them.

Temari's eyes flashed dangerously a moment before she was slapping him upside the head. "Don't ask such personal questions, especially at breakfast, you pervert!"

Kankuro winced as he brought his hand to the back of his head, rubbing the tender spot. Then, he grumbled, "I only wanted to know what his secret was."

By now, Sakura's face was the reddest Gaara had ever seen and even he could feel the back of his neck burning.

"So do you guys have any plans for today?" Temari asked suddenly, hoping to change the subject.

Shrugging, Kankuro replied with a, "Beats me."

"No."

"I'm meeting with Itachi."

It seemed the morning was just full of surprises, Temari thought as she looked at Sakura with wide eyes. "You know Uchiha Itachi?"

Sakura frowned, nodding slowly. "Of course I know him! He's like an older brother to me and," her eyes caught with Gaara's for a second before shrugging, "he's helped me through quite a lot of crap."

At her words, Gaara sat back in his seat, knowing exactly what 'crap' she meant. So Uchiha Itachi knew of her being bipolar and suicidal? He could recall her mentioning the Uchiha allowing her to stay in his home for a couple of days until she felt comfortable returning to her own, but at the time, he had thought nothing of it. Did that mean that Itachi also knew about her being raped? If he did, was he doing anything about it? Wait, no. He was the only one who knew and Sakura had never told him what happened to the man who had raped her. Had he been caught? Was he in prison? Was he still out there?

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense." Temari shrugged before looking up at the clock. "If you want, I can drop you off at your house before giving you a lift to his office in about… two hours? I have a meeting with him later today, but I always go early just in case."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that Shikamaru has a part time job there for extra credit?"

"How did you know that?"

Sakura shrugged. "Itachi and I have always told each other everything and when I asked if he still spoke to any of my old friends, he told me that Shikamaru, because of how smart he is, was allowed a part time job at the Uchiha Company as long as it didn't affect his education."

"Wow." Kankuro snorted as he began buttering more toast. "Who would have thought that a stiff bastard like Uchiha Itachi would actually open up and tell people things?"

"Watch your mouth." she suddenly spat, her eyes darkening with her anger. "You don't even know Itachi like I do. His mother had been my mother's best friend before she died, which is how I know both him and Sasuke. We always used play together and Itachi has helped me through _a lot_." Gaara's hand touched her knee, but Sakura was too angry to even feel it. "If it wasn't for him…" she shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. Looking at them all, Sakura once again shook her head before standing. She needed to take her medication. "I'm sorry. Please excuse me; I'll be back in a moment."

And just like that, Sakura was gone and running back to Gaara's bedroom.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, not noticing the dark look he was receiving from his younger brother. Temari, however, did notice and hoped that Kankuro would keep his mouth shut.

He didn't.

"Crazy much?" Kankuro shook his head. "Just exploding like that because of one–"

A fist to the face stopped him from saying any more and slammed him to the ground before Gaara was suddenly on top of him, turning Kankuro's face until he was looking up with wide eyes at the sight of Gaara. Temari was instantly on her feet, wondering if she should try and get him off of Kankuro, but she knew better than to try and touch him when he was angry.

"You don't know Sakura." Gaara muttered darkly, his hold on Kankuro's face tightening to the point where it had the older man grunting with pain. "You don't know anything about her or what she's been through so if I were you," he suddenly spat, his eyes narrowing even further, "I would keep my opinions to myself. I don't care if you're my brother, I will beat the shit out of you if I hear you utter a single word about Sakura or any of her friends. Is that understood?" when he received no answer, Gaara's hold tightened even more and shook his brother's head roughly. "I asked if you understood me."

Kankuro nodded his head the best he could.

There was a gasp a moment before a hand was encircling his wrist whilst his free, clenched hand was grabbed by a much smaller one. He looked up with a murderous expression, about to tell Temari to fuck off, but the sight of a wide eyed Sakura caused his anger to lessen, made his eyes soften, especially when he felt something small and round in the hand that was holding back his fist. She hadn't left because Kankuro had upset her. She had left to get her medication.

"Gaara," she spoke softly, "stop. _Please_."

Sakura shoved her pill into the pocket of his robe as he slowly nodded before releasing Kankuro and standing, the sight of the pink haired teenager managing to calm Gaara causing both siblings to stare in shock as they left the room.

* * *

><p>"We need to slow down." Gaara murmured against her lips and caught her hand just as Sakura had reached the waistband of his pants.<p>

Sakura smiled brightly, but the smile seemed a little forced to him. "N–No we don't! It's fine. Gaara, really, I'm okay with this."

After a small pause, Gaara pulled her hand away from his pants rather reluctantly before looking into her worried eyes. "We should wait until the time is right, Sakura." he told her despite the fact he wanted nothing more than to close the little to no distance between their lips. Closing his eyes so that he wouldn't be distracted, Gaara sighed. "Neither of us are sure where our relationship stands, so it would be best if we wait before we do anything like that."

"So…" Sakura murmured with her eyes locked on his lips, "does that mean no more make out sessions like the one last night?"

Gaara had to hold back a groan at the memory of the night before. He was already hard, but the memory of the night before, how they had touched and pleased each other, made his member throb. "Only until you stop detaching your mind, until we know where everyone stands, including Uchiha."

At the mention of his name, Sakura stiffened, causing Gaara to open his eyes to see her reaction. Her features looked pained and seeing this, he closed the distance between their lips, wanting to take the pain away. He didn't regret his words, for they needed to be said, but Gaara didn't like her reaction. It was like her pain caused him pain and he didn't like it at all.

Unlike their previous, heated and passionate kiss, this one was slower, more gentle and filled with emotion, making Sakura close her eyes and sigh against his lips as they moved with hers. His hand was no longer restraining hers, but instead holding it as he entwined their fingers, the movement almost surprising Sakura with the tenderness of his touch. However, instead of showing her shock, she smiled into their kiss before reluctantly pulling away.

"You're right." she whispered softly. "I think we should wait, too. I want our relationship to be different; I want it to be special. I just need some time to think about… about Sasuke and everything else."

He nodded before releasing her hand and cupping her face, making sure she kept her eyes locked with his. "Make sure you think about this properly, Sakura. I don't want you to choose one of us only to realise later that you made the wrong choice. It wouldn't be fair to any of us."

"I know." Sakura sighed and leaned into his touch before pulling him down against her, rolling them over so that she was on top and snuggling into his chest. "I just wish that it wasn't so hard."

She wasn't the only one.

* * *

><p>This had to be one of <em>the<em> most awkward car journeys she had ever been on. No, perhaps that was an exaggeration, because Temari honestly wasn't that bad, it was just–

"So are you and Gaara together, then?"

It was because Sakura had been waiting for something like _that_.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to gossip." Temari told her, though didn't take her eyes off of the road for a second. "I'm just curious. By now, I'm guessing you know of Gaara's anger problems," Sakura could tell that Temari wasn't telling her everything about Gaara's problems since he had told her quite a lot the night before, "so you probably know that once something sets him off, it's best to just leave him alone. You definitely _never_ touch him." For a second, the pink haired teenager thought that Temari was scolding her, but that thought changed a second later. "But somehow, you managed to calm him down _and_ he didn't attack you when you touched him.

"Gaara would never hit a woman," she quickly added, her eyes darting over to Sakura and back to the road, "but when he's really pissed, he can hardly tell the difference between friend and foe." There was silence for a moment before Temari spoke again. "Sure, he wasn't that angry this morning, but it was building. Both Kankuro and I could see it, but you was able to calm him down before he exploded. How?"

Sakura bit her lip and looked out of the window, having to think her words over carefully before answering Temari's question. "Honestly? I have no idea. I just… I didn't want him to hurt his brother because of me. I didn't mean to start any arguments this morning, it's just that I get really protective of the few friends I have left. Itachi has never given up on me, _never._"

Again, there was another moment of silence before Temari asked, "And that pill that was in your hand?" Sakura's head snapped to the side so that she could look at Temari with wide eyes, surprised to find a stern look on her face. "I'm not an idiot, Sakura and like you are with your friends, I'm _very_ protective of my brothers, Gaara especially since he has had it much harder than Kankuro and me." her eyes slid over to Sakura's, the fierce look in them stunning the younger girl. "What was that pill?"

She couldn't lie to Temari, not when the blonde was only concerned for her brother. If the situation was reversed and it looked like somebody had drugs or something of the sort in her house, around Itachi (who was like a brother to her) she would get protective, too. Sighing, Sakura looked back out of the window. "It was my medication."

They had already been to her house and were on their way to Uchiha headquarters by now. When they had arrived at her house, Sakura had had a quick bite to eat, taken her medication and got changed. She had showered earlier at Gaara's house so that Temari wouldn't have to wait for ages.

"Your medication?" Temari repeated with a frown on her features. "Are you ill or something?"

"…Not physically."

Temari's eyes widened. "You have a mental illness?"

Once again, Sakura bit her lip. "Yes, but, Temari," she quickly turned her head to face the blonde again, "you can't tell anyone. I don't want pity, especially from those who were supposed to be my friends. I want them to forgive me when they're ready, because they love me."

Slowly, unsurely, Temari nodded once, though she knew it would be hard keeping such a thing from Shikamaru, who had been nothing but honest to her since the moment they met and had genuinely been worried about Sakura. In fact, once or twice, he hadn't been able to sleep and was literally sick because he was so worried about her. "Is that why you left?" Sakura nodded once, but Temari could see in her eyes that there was more to it and Gaara's earlier words came back to her, when Kankuro had said something about Sakura and it had angered their younger brother. He had said that they didn't know what she had been through. "Do you mind if I ask what mental illness you have?"

"Bipolar." she replied quietly, not willing to say anymore.

Fortunately, by now they had arrived and as they walked into headquarters together, Sakura's eyes fell on a certain figure who was standing near the entrance, one who seemed shocked to see her there, especially with his girlfriend.

"I'll see you around, Temari." Sakura smiled at her. "And thank you for the ride."

Then, she smiled politely at Shikamaru before hurrying over to the elevator.

"Why were you with Sakura?"

Temari looked up at her boyfriend, wanting nothing more than to tell him what she had learned, but out of respect for the girl her younger brother seemed very fond of, she stayed quiet and simply shook her head. "She's friends with Gaara, so I thought it would be nice to get to know her."

He could see right through her lies, but decided not to call her out on it. Temari had never lied to him before, so he knew she would tell him when she was ready. "Troublesome."

She smiled in return, knowing that he could see right through her, yet grateful that he didn't push any further.

* * *

><p>The moment the door opened, Sakura was on her feet but immediately paused at the sight of two men leaving the room with Itachi behind them and despite his features being composed, she could see the way he was holding himself, could see the tension in his shoulders. It seemed his meeting hadn't gone so well.<p>

As she walked forward, Sakura had to stop herself from shuddering at the looks she received from both men. One had unhealthily pale skin with long dark hair that fell into his golden, snake–like eyes, whilst the other had his silvery–grey hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Unlike Itachi's smooth, straight hair, his looked messy and spiky. Like it had been cut unevenly. She couldn't see his eyes due to the light shining off of his glasses, but whatever the look he was giving her made her feel uneasy. The way the pair of them were smirking at her, like they knew some big joke about her, made her pause in her footsteps.

"Sakura," Itachi called her name, noticing her unwillingness to walk passed the men, "you're early."

She dragged her eyes away from the two men who had also paused, both eyeing her with some sort of amusement. The stupid smirks on their faces made Sakura want to throw them out of the large floor–to–ceiling window at the end of the hallway. "Uh…" she muttered and as she did, the man with the glasses tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at her like he was assessing her. "I… I was at a friend's house… his sister has a meeting here later so she gave me a lift."

"Very well, I will be free in a moment so come in." he replied, shooting a glance at the two men who had been annoying him and now seemed to be annoying Sakura. "Orochimaru, Kabuto, I asked you both to leave. I do not like repeating myself."

The dark haired man's eyes flashed dangerously and this time, Sakura couldn't help but shudder and tense as her right arm rose ever so slightly, her fist clenching. Beside him, the younger man's eyes were still on Sakura's face, his gaze making her feel as though she was some sort of experiment. There was nothing she wanted more than to run right into Itachi's office, but she couldn't, for the life of her, force herself to move. What was happening to her? Yes, they were creepy, but why was she reacting so strongly?

"It was a pleasure to see you, Sakura–san." the darker haired man smirked before turning to his companion. "Come, Kabuto."

His hissed words sent shivers up her spine, especially when he spoke to her like they were old friends. The way he said 'see you' and not 'meet you' seemed to also catch Itachi's notice as his eyes narrowed even further.

Sakura completely stiffened as both men parted to pass her, her being stuck in the middle. The second they were behind her, however, Sakura quickly turned to face them, not liking having her back to people who seemed so… She couldn't even think of a word because she was so scared! When the two finally reached the elevator and disappeared, Sakura all but ran into Itachi's office whilst he calmly re–entered, shut the door and took a seat at his desk. Taking a deep breath to push aside her unease, Sakura walked further into the office.

"You're the only person I can speak to about this." Sakura mumbled as she threw herself down in the chair in front of his desk, her confident and graceful demeanour vanishing almost instantly with just the simple position she was sitting in. "I know it's going to be awkward… but I really need someone's advice on what I should do."

Frowning, Itachi lowered the papers in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Sakura?"

"I need some relationship advice." At his deadpan, Sakura sighed. "I know, I know! You think of me like a little sister, so you don't want to know these things… but please, Itachi… I don't know who else to go to, I don't _have_ anybody else to go to."

Straightening his features, he nodded once, suddenly seeing how down Sakura really looked. "Go on."

She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I met this guy at school… I think I told you about him before, his name's Gaara." When Itachi nodded again, Sakura continued. "Well, last night at the party, we got into an argument, one that was resolved by me telling him about my condition." This obviously surprised Itachi, as his eyes had widened a fraction, but he said nothing. "I'm falling in love with him, Itachi, but I love Sasuke, too and I'm so confused about what to do.

"Gaara is so patient with me… and open minded…" Sakura said softly, though her frown deepened as she stared down at Itachi's desk. "…but even though it's nice, it scares me."

Itachi tilted his head slightly to the side as he regarded her before finally speaking. "You have always disliked the unknown."

She groaned softly. "It feels so wrong talking about stuff like this with you – you're like my big brother! But I don't… _I have nobody else to ask_." her eyes saddened for a moment as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. When she continued, Sakura kept her eyes on his desk and a faint blush tinted her cheeks. "Every guy I've ever been in any type of romantic relationship with, I've always had sex with them, Naruto included. However Gaara… he's not interested in any of that… he just wants to be with me… and I don't… I don't know how to act around him because of that. I don't know what to do with myself."

There was a soft sigh a moment before Itachi spoke, his eyes watching Sakura with a sympathetic gaze. She just looked so lost and confused and it made his gut twist to know that every man or boy she had ever been with had always – in the end – gotten something out of it. Just knowing that her words included his younger brother made Itachi feel incredibly disappointed with him, even though Sasuke couldn't possibly know about Sakura being bipolar or suicidal. "Not all men or boys are the same, Sakura. It seems that Gaara–kun wishes to know you better before you take your relationship to the next level."

"That's just the thing!" Sakura raised her voice, only to lower it again when she remembered they were in his office. "Gaara knows more about me than Sasuke or Naruto do and despite that, he isn't judging me or looking at me with pity in his eyes and I just… I don't know what to do!"

Her words weren't even making sense anymore, in Itachi's opinion, as Sakura started to speak much faster, but he couldn't bring himself to chide her, especially knowing how confused she was. As he stood up, he pocketed his mobile phone as well as anything else he may need before walking around his desk so that he was beside Sakura. "Come. I have an hour for lunch. We can go anywhere you like."

Smiling brightly at his offer, Sakura stood up. "There's this little place that I know!" she told him enthusiastically, her bright smile making the twisting feeling in his gut slowly disappear as her fear, confusion and sadness did. "I go there nearly all the time and even though it's not really… upper class… they have the _best_ food there. Not to mention I met a little girl there, one who called me 'Princess Sakura'. Turns out she's my English teacher's daughter. I didn't even know Kurenai–sensei was married, let alone a mother!"

As Sakura continued to ramble, Itachi guided her over to the elevators, nodding once at his receptionist who nodded in return, knowing that he would be going on his lunch break and didn't want to be disturbed. Whilst they walked to his car Sakura continued on with her story about how she had been avoiding Sasuke (something he found rather amusing, especially when she got to the part about the six year old girl yelling at him that he was a bully), how she had seen the girl, Azuki, dancing around in a Disney princess's dress, only for everybody except Sakura to ignore her, which led to the girl joining her for lunch. During the drive, Sakura also explained to him about what had happened the night before at the party she had attended, about how Yamanaka Ino had once again tried to humiliate her and everything after that. Then she told him about her staying over at Gaara's and how they had been intimate, though didn't have sex. Whilst discussing this, Sakura grew annoyed and confused again, telling him about how Gaara had told her they needed to slow down, that things were moving too fast for the both of them.

"You mentioned that Gaara–kun isn't used to physical contact," Itachi murmured as he parked the car across the road from the café, "so perhaps that is another reason why he wishes to slow things between you both down."

In Sakura's opinion, Itachi was pretty great at any sort of advice, since he was smart enough to look beneath everything else that would have others groaning with annoyance, Sakura herself included. A perfect example of this was the fact she had completely forgotten about Gaara's lack of experience with physical contact. Who could really blame her for forgetting, though? Just the memory of the night before had her body tingling and a familiar flame flickering to life within her. However, she didn't mention that part to Itachi because whilst they were discussing her sex life, she most definitely did _not_ want to go into details with him.

Slapping her hand to her forehead, Sakura shook her head. "I completely forgot about that!" removing her hand, she gave Itachi a pathetic look that made her look unsure and even a little desperate. "You see what I mean? I don't know how to act or think or what to say around him! We've spoken about so much since last night and he listened to my stories without judging me, with so much patience and here am I, forgetting that he also has problems! What sort of person does that make me?" she shook her head again, looking down at the menu. "I feel so selfish."

"Just because–"

"Not just that." Sakura mumbled, her entire demeanour becoming more depressed by the second. "I mean… I finally have Sasuke back in my life, something I've been hoping and wishing for, for _so_ long! We're…" The blush was back as Sakura kept her eyes averted. "We're intimate again but this time… it feels different. Whenever we're together it feels different. At school, unless it's during English class, he doesn't even look at me! And when… when we're… you know… I can't even take my top off around him, so it kind of…"

Itachi sighed, not enjoying the conversation in the slightest, especially now that it included his brother, but seeing the distress on her features made him continue with it. "It cheapens the act?"

She nodded, still looking down at her menu to avoid eye contact. "He doesn't ask questions either, which makes it worse. We used to take our time, Sasuke used to make sure that I was completely comfortable… but now it's… it's almost like it's just a quickie to him. Not once have we done _it_ in a bed, it's like he completely ignores it and chooses for the less emotional way, like against a wall or something like that. He doesn't even look me in the eye before, during or after."

It didn't surprise him, to be honest. Sakura's leaving had upset Sasuke more than she knew and Itachi knew that, despite not even officially being together, Sasuke had not taken another girl to bed since (or even before Sakura). In fact, he was certain Sasuke barely even noticed the opposite sex anymore, like he was completely ignoring all females. Sadly, it seemed that that also included Sakura. Not entirely, of course, but he wasn't allowing her close enough to hurt him, not again.

"When you left, it hurt him in ways he cannot understand, Sakura." Itachi told her calmly, despite the fact it felt like he was betraying his brother by saying such things. "He was angry for a while, even going as far as to take his anger out on a teacher. I believe it was his way of feeling closer to you, to try and understand you since apparently you attacked teachers before you left." he knew his words had hurt her, but Itachi also knew that he needed to say this, to tell her about his brother's feelings. "He regularly visited your home, but each time he was denied access and told that you didn't want to see him, which hurt him deeply considering how close the two of you were.

"I wouldn't normally interfere with Sasuke's personal life, especially his relationships, but I know that what I'm saying needs to be said and since my younger brother is too foolish to do so himself…" Itachi sighed, pausing briefly as they ordered their meals before continuing. "I'm glad that you're happy, Sakura, but if your feelings for Gaara–kun are stronger than the ones for Sasuke, then you need to tell my brother. I will always be here for you, but I do not want to see Sasuke hurting the way he had again."

Sakura bit down on her lip as a hard lump formed in her throat and her eyes watered. It was because of the latter that she was keeping her head low, so that Itachi couldn't see how deeply his words struck her.

She had known that her actions and leaving had hurt Sasuke, but she didn't know that it had been so deeply. Yes, they had been in a sexual relationship, but that was just it. Their relationship had been purely physical, well, except from their friendship. In a way, they had been nothing more than friends with benefits and whilst it pained her to think of it that way, she knew it was true. "I don't want to hurt either of them." Sakura whispered. "I never… I just…"

Raising his hand, Itachi gently placed it under her chin, lifting her head so that she was looking at him. "Sakura–"

Before he could get his words out, however, Sakura shook her head. "Just tell me what I should do!" she whimpered. "I don't know what to do. With Sasuke… there's history there… we've been best friends since before we could even walk! When I returned to school, he wouldn't speak to me – I don't blame him for not wanting to, but it still hurt. We were friends for such a long time and before I left we had been more than friends. I could go to him about anything, but that feeling isn't there anymore, Itachi. He doesn't look at me _that_ way anymore and _it hurts_! And I feel like… feel like if I choose Gaara, I'm going to lose Sasuke altogether and just the thought makes my heart ache.

"With Gaara, there isn't any history there. Being with him would be like starting over, a chance to actually do something right with my life. When I first met him, he had been so cold and angry and so full of hatred, but that was just a front! I know him now and I believe that I've helped him change, even if it's only a little. He understands me, Itachi. He… h–he even said… that he'd understand… if I–I chose Sasuke over him… but… but when he said it… there had been p–pain in his eyes."

Once again, Itachi sighed. "Let's not think about this for now, Sakura. It is stressing you out too much. You're still young, so you have a lot of time to make mistakes and do things right. Perhaps this is one of those things that you just need to go with, but I must ask that you tell Sasuke about your relationship with Gaara–kun when the time is right."

There was the slight tremble of her lower lip, but after taking a calming breath, Sakura gave him a smile and nodded once.

"I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Okay so here I was all excited for last week's episode and then just like that, it was cancelled. Ugh!  
><strong>

**I hope that in this chapter, you're all starting to understand Sakura a little bit more.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	26. Why Didn't You Tell Me?

**Chapter 2****6 ****– ****Why Didn't You Tell Me?**

It had been just over two weeks since she had told Gaara everything. They had spoken many times since then, but Sakura had the feeling that Gaara still needed time to get used to whatever was happening between them. He wasn't as against her touching him as he used to be, but she could still see the uncertainty in his eyes.

He had started opening up to her, started slowly lowering his guards. They weren't completely down just yet, but Sakura was patient enough to wait. After all, she knew exactly what it felt like to finally let somebody in, to tell them all of your darkest secrets. It was terrifying.

Some of the things Gaara told her broke Sakura's heart. Yes, she had been sexually attacked and beaten and yes, she had a mental illness, but not once did her family ever give up on her or treat her badly. It made her heart _hurt_ and Sakura wanted nothing more than to pull him into a bone–crushing hug, to tell him that she would be there for him no matter what, but she knew she couldn't do that. Not only because Gaara was a proud person and didn't like to be pitied or looked upon as weak, but also because she couldn't guarantee she'd always be there. Sometimes, with her condition, Sakura often did things or said things that she didn't mean. Once or twice, she had said the wrong thing to Itachi, of all people, and had said and done even worse to her parents. There wasn't only that, though. There was also the fact that she was still in love with Sasuke even though she was falling hard for Gaara.

Gaara was changing. Sakura wasn't entirely sure how, but he was different than when she first met him. He wasn't as harsh and he was much more gentle with her. Gaara actually listened to her without interrupting, he let her rant until she was red in the face from lack of oxygen. Then, he would kiss her on the lips and somehow, it made everything feel better. Just knowing that he would never give up on her made her feel so, _so _happy.

The warning Itachi had given her, reminding her that Gaara was most likely not used to being touched at all, let alone intimately, hadn't left her mind since the moment the words left his lips. So, out of respect, Sakura didn't push him. She didn't make his decision for them to wait any harder and was actually quite well behaved. It wasn't that she was a slut, it was just that Gaara was… well, to put it bluntly, he was hot and he only seemed to get hotter every time she saw him.

She wasn't the only one who was having troubles with keeping her hands to herself, either. There were moments when Gaara would give her a look so heated that it made her feel weak at the knees. There were other moments when he would kiss her so hard it made her breathless and feel a little lightheaded. However, no matter how much Sakura wanted it to, they never went further than kissing, maybe a little petting here and there, but nothing like New Year's Eve. And in a way, Sakura was fine with that. Despite the fact that their little make out sessions left her feeling as though she _had _to have him, it also made her happy that Gaara wasn't just looking for a fuck.

They had all gone back to school last week, but she had had an extra week off due to her mother worrying too much, not wanting to stress herself out too much. Sakura honestly was not looking forward to returning. It was Monday tomorrow, which meant she and Sasuke would be working together and right now, she wanted to avoid him. Even though they weren't actually together, Sakura felt like she had betrayed him, like she was hurting him. She bit her lip, looking down at the English textbook in front of her that Kurenai had loaned her.

Not only was she scared of hurting him, but Sakura was also terrified of hurting Gaara. With Sasuke, he had friends to be there for him if their relationship (whatever_ that_ was) didn't work out. Gaara didn't have any friends besides her. Yes, he had his siblings, but there was only so much you wanted to tell your family.

She wanted to tell Sasuke everything. Not about what had happened to her, but about her and Gaara. She wanted to tell him so that… Well, Sakura didn't know why she wanted to tell him because if Sasuke really cared for her, then it was going to hurt him and if he didn't, it was going to hurt her. Ugh! Why was she such an awful person? Why did she keep hurting everyone?

It had only been two weeks and already Sakura had had thoughts of breaking things off with both boys.

But that could never happen.

She was far too selfish.

* * *

><p>School was, for lack of better word, utterly <em>shit.<em>

English has been awkward – and it hadn't even been her who made it that way! It had been Sasuke. He barely even spoke, only grunted and nodded. Both she and Kakashi had frowned at him many times, silently trying to find out what the hell his problem could be, but Sasuke didn't even seem to notice.

It also seemed like she had gained even more hatred over the holidays. How, Sakura had no idea, but if looks could kill, Karin would have killed her over a thousands times in just the past thirty minutes alone. It was difficult to ignore glares such as those, too. They were just so in your face and… _there_! It was because of the intensity that Karin was glaring at her that both Kakashi and Gaara noticed, seeming to sense the darker edge to the air and when they looked over at the girl, she had immediately snarled and turned away.

Not a single one of them knew what to make of that.

"She's Uzumaki Karin, right?" Kakashi asked, an obvious frown in his voice as he continued to watch the red haired girl.

"…Yeah." It was a slow reply, almost unsure. "She's a distant relative of Naruto's mom's. It's one hell of a gene pool, too."

Gaara frowned, looking down at Sakura beside him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," instead of Sakura speaking, it was Kakashi and neither Sakura nor Gaara could hide their shock as he did. "Those within the Uzumaki family usually have red hair, such as Karin over there and Kushina–san. There is also Nagato–"

"You know Kushina–san?" Sakura demanded, her eyes widening.

He glanced down at her, nodding. "Her husband, Minato–sensei, taught me almost everything I know. He's like a father to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked quietly, noticing Genma sighing at his desk and looking over at them, though he was too laid back to actually say anything to them. "I mean, I brought them both up a couple of times, but you always acted as though you didn't know them. Oh! If you know Kushina–san and Minato–san, does that mean you know Naruto, too?"

For a moment, there was silence as Kakashi debated on whether or not he should answer her question, but really, where was the harm in doing so? "I didn't say anything, Sakura, because I'm not supposed to. Our sessions are for _you_ to open up to me, not the other way around and as for your second question, no. I've only ever met Naruto two or three times and that was back when he was a child – before he could even walk. I doubt he'll even remember me. It's been a while since I went to visit."

"So if it's a strong gene for Uzumaki's to have red hair, why is Naruto blond?"

Again, it was silent as Sakura and Kakashi looked at Gaara, who was practically glaring holes into Karin's head. Something about the girl was obviously rubbing him the wrong way, especially if his fists clenching tightly had anything to say about it. Noticing his barely restrained anger, Sakura gently took his hand, stroking her thumb over his knuckles and almost instantly, it managed to calm him down a little, completely surprising Kakashi.

Letting go of his hand, Sakura picked up her pen and continued taking notes. "His father, Minato–san, is blond, too. In fact, Naruto looks more and more like him every day, don't you think, Kakashi?"

"Yes, almost scarily so."

"Why does she keep looking at you like that?"

Sakura looked up at Gaara, seeing his eyes narrow at Karin and when she turned to face the Uzumaki, Sakura saw her quickly turn back around to face the front. "I honestly have no idea. She was… well, not fine, but didn't ever look at me like _that_ before the holidays. I don't think she did, anyway." sighing, she looked back at Gaara and shrugged. "Just leave her to it. If I really bother her that much, she'd come and say something to me, _trust me_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi questioned and just like Gaara, his eyes narrowed.

"Karin and I have never really seen eye to eye." she explained calmly, not even seeming that bothered. "We've always disliked each other, even going as far as getting into fights. Karin has never held back when screaming insults at me or attacking me, it's just who she is."

This time, their eyes widened. "She _attacked_ you?"

Sakura scoffed, glancing up at Kakashi. "Did you skip everything in my files for my first year here?" looking down at her notebook, she sighed again. "Karin along with a couple of other girls always used to pick on me during our first year here."

"What changed?"

She glanced up at Gaara before looking back down at her notes and writing. "Uchiha Itachi got involved." Sakura told them both, completely surprising them. "He's the big brother I never had and when he heard I was being bullied by jealous fan–girls, he stepped in and made them back off." Again, Sakura shrugged, glancing over at Karin and narrowing her eyes at the back of the girl's head. "Since that day, we've often fought, but Karin has never dared to bully me and make me feel like I'm worthless again. She's terrified of Itachi and always has been. In a way, she's scared of Sasuke, too.

"Not only that, but I started to grow more confident and I fought back. I was tired of being treated like I was dirt. I had a lot of help from Ino, there. She helped me just as much as Itachi did."

It was obvious that Sakura wasn't going to say any more as she suddenly went silent and both Kakashi and Gaara couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She had never really had it easy, had she?

* * *

><p>Opening the front door, Gaara rubbed his eyes tiredly before stepping inside, holding it open behind him as Sakura also entered his home. She was watching him with concerned eyes as she shut the door, as she slipped off her shoes and hung her jacket up. There was something bothering him, but no matter how hard Sakura tried, she couldn't figure out what it was.<p>

If she was being completely honest, Sakura would say that something had been bothering him all day, seeing as Gaara had been angered much easier than usual, his temper much shorter. In fact, more than once today Sakura had had to stop him from starting fights with other students. Sure, he had only been defending her, but she didn't want him to get into trouble, not because of her.

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

Gaara glanced over his shoulder at Sakura and silently shook his head as he hung his own jacket up and removed his shoes.

Now that she thought about it, the rings around his eyes seemed much darker. Damn it, she hated insomnia! Sakura knew how hard it was being so tired but being unable to sleep. Taking his hand when he had turned around, Sakura gave Gaara a soft smile and pulled him closer to her, only letting go of his hand so that she could wrap her arms around his waist.

It made her heart warm how Gaara relaxed against her, how he let out another sigh, though this one sounded more like a sigh of relief. She let out her own sigh as his arms slowly wrapped around her in return, holding her against him. This was one of the many things she liked about Gaara, even though it made her a little uncertain and confused. He didn't expect sex from her. Sure, there were moments where simple kissing moved to heavy make out sessions (though nowhere near as heavy as New Year's Eve), leaving them both hot and bothered, but his self–control was surprisingly strong and firm – unyielding, even.

Just as Sakura lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him, wanting to feel his lips on her own, the door to the living room opened, surprising her. She hadn't even noticed that it had been closed!

"You're home early." Gaara muttered, but made no move to release Sakura.

Again, Sakura was left feeling surprised, since Gaara wasn't one for public displays of affection. They hadn't been together long (not even a whole month) but already she had learned that. "Hey, Temari."

Temari smiled at Sakura before turning to her younger brother and grinning. "Well of course I'm home early! I gave myself the day off since it's–"

"You know I don't care."

Seeing her smile slip away, Sakura bit her lip and glanced up at Gaara, frowning. "Gaara–"

"No."

"What's wrong?" she asked gently, seeing the guarded look in his eyes as he looked over at Temari. When he went to release her, to move away, Sakura caught his wrist. "Gaara, don't ignore me. Please tell me what's wrong!"

"It's the nineteenth of January."

The guarded look in his eyes increased and it was obvious he was growing more uncomfortable by the second, obvious that he was also growing angry. When Temari noticed Sakura's confusion, her eyes widened. "Gaara, you didn't tell her?"

"Tell me _what_?"

Gaara turned to look at her, pinning her in her place with his icy blue eyes, but just as he was about to say something, somebody came rushing out of the living room, grinning almost as widely as Temari had been.

"Happy birthday, little brother!"

Sakura's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening with disbelief and shock. If it had been anyone else, she would have been hurt by them not telling her when their birthday was, as she had always been one to make a fuss of her friends, to spoil them and make sure they had a great day. However, Sakura could remember what Gaara had told her, could remember every single word.

Suddenly, she was pulling him against her, everything slipping into place as she finally realised why he had been in such a bad mood, why he seemed so tired and stressed, why he had been picking fights today. It was his birthday. In other words, it was the day that his mother had died giving birth to him. Sakura closed her eyes, tightening her hold when she didn't feel him returning it, when she felt him tensing against her. She paid no attention to his siblings, even though they had to be hurting, too. In a way, she respected them for pushing aside their grief and trying to celebrate Gaara's birthday, but at the same time, she was a little mad at them. Couldn't they see that this hurt him?

"I'm sorry." Sakura whispered into his chest, sighing as she felt him returning his embrace. Sure, he was only putting one around her waist, but that was fine with her. Just as long as he wasn't shutting her out.

"Don't be. I don't want a gift."

"No, not about not getting you a gift." she gave a small smile, though it soon slipped away and Sakura was grateful when she noticed Temari and Kankuro avert their eyes, giving them some privacy. "I know what this day means to you, Gaara. I remember what you told me. I just wish you had let me know that it was your birthday, so that we could… I don't know… We could have bought some flowers and gone to visit your mother's–"

He simply shook his head, cutting her off. "No." When she looked up at him in confusion, Gaara closed his eyes, sighing. "The reason why I had no sleep was because I was there last night."

Privacy. Gaara had gone to pay his respects alone so that he could have some privacy, some alone time with her. Sakura bit her lip and had to blink a couple of times to force back her tears. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must be not to have a mother – she couldn't even imagine her own not being around. She'd be lost without Mebuki. "Still," Sakura whispered, pressing her face into his chest once more, "I may not have known your mother, but I would have liked to pay my respects."

Gaara pulled away, though instead of completely letting go of her, he took Sakura's hand. He didn't miss the smiles his siblings gave him and Sakura, how even Kankuro looked happy and grateful for having her around.

"You have some visitors, Gaara." Temari informed him. "They're in the living room waiting for you and have been since noon."

There was no shock on his face, but Sakura could tell that he was a little unsure as he tightened his hold on her hand and moved forward. She was right behind him, noticing that he had asked her, without words, to go with him.

When they entered the room, Sakura tensed ever so slightly as an elderly woman and a stern looking man stood from their seats, both looking over Gaara with looks that had her tensing even more, that had her tightening her hold on Gaara and trying to pull him closer, like she could protect him from their looks by hiding him behind her. He didn't budge, though and it pained her that he seemed used to their critical eyes, used to being sized up.

And then, their eyes snapped to her face and finally, Gaara gave a reaction as he actually _did_ pull her behind his body, suddenly glaring at the two opposite him.

Kankuro and Temari entered at that moment, though froze in their places at the anger they could feel pouring from their younger brother and it didn't surprise them at all, especially when they glanced at the other two and noticed their hard eyes assessing Sakura, noticed how Gaara was trying to shield her from their gazes.

After Gaara had hit a certain age, the way people looked at him didn't seem to affect him as much. Well, he didn't give any outward response to the looks, except for when he was fighting with their father. However, it seemed as though he didn't appreciate having them staring at Sakura in such a way.

And neither did Temari.

"Oi, stop glaring at each other!" she demanded, placing a hand on her hip as she walked into the middle of the room, right in between the two guests and Gaara. Kankuro was by her side in an instant, just in case their brother snapped and he had to stop him. Even though he didn't look that strong, it was always Kankuro who restrained Gaara as the redhead was too much for Temari to handle alone. "If you can't play nice, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave, Chiyo–baa, Baki."

The older woman's glare dropped in an instant as a smile graced her wrinkled face. "I was just curious!" she cackled, making Sakura pull an unsure face as she slowly moved around Gaara so that she could see Chiyo and Baki. "I never would've thought that Gaara would have a lady friend!"

"Well he does." Sakura huffed, stepping closer to Gaara so that she was slightly in front of him and glaring in Baki's direction, noticing how the man still hadn't dropped the stern glare. What the hell was the guy's problem? Putting on an almost painfully obvious fake smile, Sakura then said, "I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you both."

Again, the woman cackled, giving Sakura an appreciative look. "I can see why you like her, Gaara! She kind of reminds me of someone."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, choosing not to humour the old woman. "What are you doing here, Chiyo–baa, Baki?"

Finally, Baki's glare dropped and it honestly surprised Sakura when he gave Gaara a small smile. "You're eighteen today, Gaara, meaning you're no longer a child. Of course we came."

It was obvious that Gaara was suspicious. "What do you have?"

Sakura was about to slap him upside the head! Was he… Was he _demanding_ gifts? Surely not? Gaara had told her that he didn't want any presents! But then again, both he and Temari had called Chiyo, 'Chiyo–baa'. Maybe she was their grandmother? Just as she shot him an unamused look, about to raise her hand and actually slap him, she noticed how both Chiyo and Baki grew serious, how Temari and Kankuro tensed.

"You've always been smart and noticed things." Baki sighed, his hands unclasping from behind him as he moved to a briefcase that was sitting beside the sofa. Placing it onto the coffee table, he opened it and pulled out three envelopes. "We didn't want to give these to you today, since it's your birthday, but a promise is a promise."

Kankuro frowned, noticing how Temari had grown rather silent. "A promise?"

"Your father," Chiyo spoke, either not noticing or ignoring how Gaara's eyes flashed angrily, "wrote a few letters a month before he left and asked for Baki and I to guard them and, should he not return by your eighteenth birthday, Gaara, we were to hand them over to you."

Sakura suddenly felt like she was intruding on something so very private, making her bite her lip uncertainly. "Should I… come back another time?" she asked quietly, though it was obvious her question was directed at Gaara, since she was looking up at him. When he shook his head and tightened his hold, Sakura got her reply. He didn't want her to leave. So, despite feeling rather uncomfortable listening in on such a thing, Sakura took a deep breath and looked back at the others. No matter what, she would be there for him.

"There are three letters altogether." Temari told her two brothers as the three white envelopes were handed out, earning her looks of shock. "One for each of us."

He still didn't let go of Sakura's hand, even when he was handed his letter, seeming slightly stunned as he stared down at the envelope with his eyes a fraction wider than what they usually were. They really were from his father! It was in his handwriting and had the stamp that only his father used, sealing the envelope shut.

"I wanted to give them to you both sooner, but these two kept them pretty well guarded to make sure nothing was touched or opened until you turned eighteen – mine and Kankuro's letters included."

"I wonder what they're about." Kankuro sounded like he was speaking to himself as he glared down at his envelope, though Sakura noticed how his eyes kept shifting to the one in Gaara's hands. If she hadn't known what she did, she would have demanded why he seemed so against Gaara having one. However, since Sakura _did _know, it almost made her smile how protective Kankuro seemed, like he didn't want Gaara to open it in case their father's words hurt him.

Temari felt her chest constrict painfully at the guarded look in Gaara's eyes, the look that had appeared whenever he had been preparing himself for another beating, for more bullying from their father. She had to look away as her throat suddenly tightened, as she felt her eyes beginning to burn and guilt almost knocked her to her knees. She should have tried to help him more! She should have protected him. What sort of older sister did that make her when she couldn't even look after her baby brother?

"Even if we had been given permission to open our letters," Temari spoke quietly, shuffling from one foot to the other and glancing at Kankuro, who nodded once, "we wouldn't have read them. I wanted to wait until you were given yours, to see what you think we should do."

"I don't control your actions." Gaara muttered as he looked down at his letter again, frowning as he did so.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious as to what their father had to say and why it was written in a letter instead of him coming to see them. After all, they were his children! But then again, he probably wasn't sure as to what Gaara's reaction would be to whatever was in the letter and if their father did come… Well, it was just easier to say that he wouldn't have handled whatever it was well.

Temari frowned softly, glancing over at the silent Chiyo and Baki before looking back to him. "It's not that, Gaara. It's just that… It's just that we both know how hard this will be for you and we want to be there for you. So… if you don't want to read your letter, then Kankuro and I won't read ours, either. That way you won't be left out in whatever he has to say. Gaara," her voice was quieter now as she moved to stand in front of him, making him look at her with a wary expression, "Kankuro and I will never let you be hurt or left out again. We want to be here for you!"

When he looked up at his brother, Gaara saw Kankuro nod once with one of the most serious looks on his face that he had ever seen before. "I need to think about it." Gaara told them all, glancing down at Sakura who gave him a gentle smile of encouragement, before looking back up at his siblings, giving them both a small smile. "But… Thank you."

If it hadn't been such a serious moment, Baki and Chiyo would have fallen to the ground in shock. Since when did Gaara thank somebody or smile? The old woman's eyes looked down at the girl beside him, who was still holding his hand. Did the girl have something to do with it? Glancing at the other two siblings, she guessed that she did, since they didn't seem as shocked as she and Baki, which genuinely surprised her before she gave a smile.

Maybe Gaara could finally have the happiness that he deserved.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **- There's a reason why Sasuke's acting like a little bitch again, by the way! It's probably not what you're thinking, either and it's actually a big thing that won't be revealed until the end! ;-)  
><strong>**

****Okay, so last week's Naruto episode. How deep was Itachi's voice when he was supposed to be eleven?! OMG. He's so adorable that I just want to squeeze his cheeks and kiss him. I think he's my favourite character and following in close second is either Gaara or Kakashi. I love them all!****

****I'm done fan-girling now.****

****Ish.****

****Na, I'm not.****

****HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)****


	27. Stay The Night

**Chapter 2****7 ****–**** Stay The Night**

Thankfully, Sasuke hadn't been too difficult this past month, though he was a little quieter than usual. Whenever Sakura commented on it though, he would say that it was nothing important, just things to do with finding colleges. They had the choice of either staying another year at Konoha High, get a job or go to college.

She could understand why he was so stressed. His entire family had gone to the same college, had always passed every single one of their exams with little to no mistakes. Even Itachi had managed to do it whilst he was in control of the company. Just one slip up, one wrong move, and Sasuke would break that family tradition. His parents weren't around anymore, so he would have no idea how they would react to such a thing, but they all knew that his father, Fugaku, would be incredibly disappointed. Though Mikoto, bless her, would smile at him and try to comfort him like only a mother could.

Sakura wasn't sure what she wanted to do when she finished school. For goodness sake, she wasn't even eighteen yet! How the hell was she supposed to know what she wanted to do for the rest of her life? One minute, Sakura wanted to be a fashion designer like her mother, but then the next, she wanted to be an actress or something of the sort. What she was trying to say was that right now wasn't the time to be making such final decisions. Right now, they should all just be having fun because honestly, when were they ever going to get the chance to be teenagers again? Never.

Itachi had been forced to grow up too quickly. The death of his parents had forced him to grow up so that he could take care of his little brother and keep his father's business going as well as go to college. It was because of this that Itachi hadn't had the chance to live a little. Naruto had often made fun of him, saying that Itachi didn't know how to have fun anymore, which resulted in him being punched over the head by her or Sasuke, since they were all protective of each other in their own way. Itachi, however, would simply shrug as though he didn't mind. Saying that though, if it meant his brother would be safe and happy, then Itachi would do anything.

He was stressed. Just one look at Itachi told you that. The stress of taking control of such a large business, of bringing up Sasuke, and going to college all at the same time, was noticeable. When he was younger, his tear troughs were nowhere near as pronounced as they were now. He also smiled a lot more and played with them when he was younger but now, Itachi barely even had the time to leave his office for lunch and quite often worked late. It worried her to no end.

Sighing, Sakura fell backwards so that she was laying on her back, spread eagle and was staring up at her ceiling tiredly.

After getting home from school, she had stripped down and changed so she was in a long sleeved shirt and her boy–cut underwear. It wasn't like she had any plans and both of her parents were out at work. Sakura had meant to get in the bath, but it was far too much effort. It was quite warm, too, now that she thought about it. Had her mother left the heating on before leaving? Most likely.

Another sigh escaped her. After receiving the letter from his father, Baki and Chiyo had wished him happy birthday and left before Gaara had allowed Temari to order takeout and rent a movie. Sakura smiled softly at the memory. It wasn't like he had much choice with both his siblings trying to make a fuss of him, though what really made him give in was when she had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him hard. Between softer, more tender kisses, Sakura had practically begged him to let them spoil him just the smallest amount, earning her a groan when Gaara had finally agreed before kissing her more heatedly.

Sakura's thighs moved together restlessly as she felt warmth pool in her stomach at just the memory of how he had kissed her. After that kiss, she had been breathless and ridiculously turned on and Gaara had had to take a cold shower before joining them, though if Temari and Kankuro had suspected anything, they didn't say a word of their suspicions. However, Sakura had noticed the smirk that Kankuro had sent their way when he thought she wasn't looking. What a pig!

Throwing her head back, Sakura groaned. It felt like she had no energy at all and as she turned to the side to glance at the clock beside her bed, she groaned again. It wasn't even half past four yet! How the hell could she be so tired when nothing had even happened at school?

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Perhaps a little nap would make her feel better? It didn't matter if it didn't because not even a second later, Sakura completely relaxed as she dozed off.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, where–" he cut himself off, his eyes widening and not only a fraction, but completely. "Why aren't you wearing a bra?" his eyes lowered. "Or pants, for that matter."<p>

Sakura's eyes snapped open and widened as she looked over to her opened door, surprised to find Gaara stood there, his own wide eyes staring at her before darting to the side, his cheeks warming with a blush.

"How did you get in?"

Seeing that Sakura was making no move to get up or get dressed almost made Gaara nervously shuffle his feet, _almost_. "Your mother let me in." he told her and when he was met by silence, Gaara risked a glance at her face. She was confused. "It's seven in the evening, Sakura. How long have you been laying there for?"

"Since I got home." Sakura answered before looking up at him with an impish smile, raising one of her hands and beckoning him closer. "Care to give me a hand?"

He swallowed, _hard,_ making Sakura giggle.

"_Gaara_," her voice was low and seductive, earning her a shiver, "why don't you join me?"

The door shut and he was on her in a second, his lips claiming hers and his hands cupping her breasts and in response, she arched into his touch, her hands smoothing their way up his back and into his hair. When Gaara was resting comfortably between her legs, Sakura wrapped them around his waist, gasping as she pressed his growing arousal against her.

"Take your pants off." Sakura whispered, her hands suddenly tugging on the waistband of his pants. When he didn't move to do anything, simply staring at her uncertainly, she smiled. "Trust me."

Not sure whether to trust such an impish smile (not to mention the mischievous look in her eyes) he slowly did as she asked whilst Sakura worked on the buttons of his shirt, leaving him clad in only his underwear. She couldn't help but trace the fine, red hairs that disappeared into his underwear, couldn't help how her body reacted to Gaara shivering ever so slightly at her light touch. She had to feel more of him. Then, making his eyes widen a fraction and his breath leave him, Sakura unbuttoned her own shirt and pushed the material to her sides before pulling him closer and making him shiver again when their bare skin touched, but what caused the biggest reaction was when his erection pressed against the apex of her thighs, the only things separating them being flimsy pieces of material.

"Sakura…" he wanted to tell her that they shouldn't be doing this, wanted to remind her of their promise to wait until everyone knew where they were… but _damn_ _it_ she felt so good and was already wet, her juices soaking through her underwear and even his own.

Her hands grabbed his hips, moving them _just so_ and moaning when he hit a sensitive spot and in response, Gaara began moving his hips against hers, closing his eyes and holding back a grunt at the feeling it brought him. Their movements quickened and his hand gripped her hip tightly as their breathing grew harsh and beneath them, Sakura's bed began to creak ever so slightly.

And it was when she let out a sharp cry of pleasure that Gaara remembered exactly why they were waiting, why he refused to go so far with her. His eyes snapped to hers, trying to ignore the urge to just rip off their underwear and take her. It was a ridiculously strong urge, especially since Sakura was panting in his ear, raising her hips and grinding them against his almost desperately, trying to bring them both to completion. Immediately, he pulled back, surprised that he had to use quite a bit of force to pull away from her hold. Gaara had definitely not expected her to be so strong!

"W–What are you…?"

"This isn't right, Sakura." Gaara sighed, rolling off of her and laying back on her bed beside her. It was a couple of moments before he pulled her against him. "…And you detached your mind again." It was a lie, but Gaara honestly didn't think he could handle any more of their… sessions. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her by things going too far.

"_Again_?"

Gaara looked down at her head, hearing her disappointed and hurt tone, like she hated herself. He felt so bad for lying to her and no doubt confusing her. "Don't feel bad for doing it, but just know that I refuse to have sex with you until we figure out how to stop it from happening."

Slowly, unsurely, Sakura nodded, though she couldn't deny that it felt like a relief to hear him say those words. "…So, it's not that you don't want to?"

He smirked, grabbing her hand and before she could even gasp with surprise, he made her grab something, something hot and very, _very_, hard. It took everything in him to ignore the way her hand felt against him. "Believe me, I want to. But I want to be with _you_, not just your body."

"You're quite romantic, you know." Sakura chuckled as she pulled her hand out of his hold, though she paused for a minute at the waistband of his underwear. "Do you want me to help you with that?"

Gaara shook his head. "No."

"I heard that blue–"

"I'm fine, Sakura." he told her quietly. "Just put a movie on."

* * *

><p>Once the movie had ended, Sakura knew that Gaara would take this as his cue to leave. However before he could move out of her bed, Sakura grabbed his wrist just as he had pulled back the covers.<p>

Whilst putting the movie on, she had fixed her nightshirt, put on some shorts and Gaara had gotten dressed, too. Also, during the movie, Mebuki had brought them some food and drinks, though it was thankfully after they were dressed and Gaara was no longer obviously aroused. How awkward would that have been? Very. It would have been very, _very_ awkward.

Gaara looked at her questioningly, "Sakura?"

There was a determined look in her eyes as she stared at him. Even with only the television lighting the room, he could still feel the effects of Sakura's apple green eyes. "Stay the night." she whispered. "I don't want to be alone."

For a moment, Gaara simply watched her, unsure if she was really asking him such a thing. But when she looked up at him again, he could tell that Sakura was serious, that she didn't want to be alone. Inwardly Gaara debated whether spending the night with her would be a good idea. After they had been intimate earlier, there was no denying that they had both become slightly uncomfortable after he put a stop to it, what with him being obviously _very_ aroused and Sakura feeling bad, even though he told her not to.

"Will your mother not mind? It _is _a school night, after all."

Sakura gave him a soft smile. "She really likes you, so no I don't think she'll mind."

It was silent for a couple of moments as Gaara continued to think before finally, he decided to hell with it. He didn't miss the look of relief and happiness on Sakura's features as he removed his shirt and settled back down in the covers, pulling her against him as Sakura switched off the television and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - This chapter is more of a filler chapter, which is why I posted it today instead of next Wednesday.  
><strong>

**Oh, and I need your opinion on something! It has nothing to do with anime and things such as that, though. It's more of a fashion question. You see, I'm going to a concert and I've already chosen my outfit, but I showed it to my mum earlier and she said that the shorts are too short. I'll admit that yes, they are short and show a little bit of bum, but I love the outfit so much! It's not a lot of bum. More like about an inch or something. Besides, I'm not wearing them anywhere other than a concert, so I should be fine, right? I'd post a picture, but I kind of want to keep who I am a secret. Ugh! This is why I prefer staying inside and on the internet. Going out is such hard work.  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!:-)**


	28. The Truth Is Out!

**Chapter 2****8 ****–**** The Truth Is Out!**

Have you ever caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and it just ruins your day? Well, Sakura seemed to be having one of _those_ days. The only good thing about her day so far (even though it was still only morning and she had only just woken up) was waking up warm and comfortable with a certain red head sleeping next to her.

During the night, the two had moved closer to one another until eventually, Sakura was pressed against his chest, his arms were wrapped around her and their legs were entangled. She couldn't see much from her position, but if Sakura pulled her head back slightly, she could see his relaxed expression and seeing it made her feel happy. He looked so content and after hearing about his difficulty with sleeping, it made her feel warm inside knowing that it helped him sleep having her so close to him.

It didn't matter to Sakura that in an hour or so, she would have to get up and start getting ready for school. It also didn't matter to her that if she didn't get up by that time, her mother would come barging into her room and literally drag her out of bed. In Gaara's arms, Sakura felt so… relaxed and at peace. She felt accepted and possibly even loved.

Sakura bit her lip ever so slightly before once again pressing her face into Gaara's chest, inhaling his scent as she did so. Would it be creepy of her to say that he smelled good? It probably would, but it didn't mean it wasn't true. Gaara really did smell good and Sakura was secretly grateful that he had decided to sleep without a shirt on last night, giving her a good view.

It was such a beautiful sight in the morning.

Just as that thought entered her mind, Sakura leaned back slightly to get a better look, but instead her eyes locked onto her reflection due to the mirror at her vanity table, immediately making her feel like crap because _damn_ she looked awful. Her hair was dishevelled and knotted, there were dark circles under her eyes (though nowhere near as obvious as Gaara's) and now that she thought about it, Sakura realised that she had morning breath that could knock an elephant out cold. Why couldn't she wake up like they did on television shows or on movies? You know, when they wake up and they look perfect?

Again, the sight of Gaara sleeping peacefully made her smile. Because of her being bipolar and sometimes suffering from insomnia because of it, her mother had changed her thin, summer curtains for heavy, thick ones that blocked out the light. Not only that, but she always lit some sort of stick that released a calming scent during the day, helping her relax, as well as buying Sakura a new, much more comfortable bed.

Reluctantly untangling herself, Sakura got out of bed and moved as quietly as she possibly could to the bathroom where she proceeded to brush her teeth and hair as well as wash her face. By the time she returned, Gaara still wasn't awake, so she smiled brightly and moved to join him again, immediately being welcomed into his arms as they seemed to automatically wrap around her, holding her tightly to his chest. It reminded her of the way a child would cuddle their teddy bear.

Just laying there in Gaara's embrace made Sakura think about many different things, one of them being how much he had changed since she had first met him. Despite still being angry, he didn't lash out as much and he was much calmer now. His hair had grown an inch or two as well, making it look messier, but still hot. God she loved running her hands through his hair! What else was different about Gaara… oh! He was taller, too. No longer was he only a couple of inches taller than her, Gaara was now almost six inches taller than her, making her feel rather small and dainty when he held her – a feeling she absolutely adored.

It was like he had become a completely different person since they first met, but Sakura still felt like she knew him.

"It is considered rude to stare."

Those were the first words he had ever said to her, Sakura recalled as she smiled into his chest. "I can't help it. You've changed so much and it's only been a couple of months!"

Despite his eyes being closed, Sakura knew he would be rolling them at her. "So have you."

It was true. Sakura had also changed and her parents had noticed this change, too. No longer did Sakura walk around with fake confidence or a depressed look in her eyes. Now, she was genuinely happy even though sometimes it still hurt her when her old friends avoided her. However whenever this happened, Gaara was there for her and not only him, but also his sister, Temari, as well as Itachi and Kakashi.

"We need to get up soon." Sakura mumbled but despite her words, she tightened her hold on him, her face moving from his chest and up to the crook of his neck.

"Hn." he replied simply before resting his head against hers. "I will have to go home before school, so I'll meet you there."

She groaned. "Don't go yet! I'm too comfortable."

So was he, so instead of moving, Gaara tightened his hold on her. "Very well." he mumbled, his eyes still closed.

Last night was the best night's sleep he had had in what seemed like forever! Unlike other times he slept, it actually felt as though he was well rested, like he had actually managed to fully relax and allow his body to recuperate whilst he slept peacefully. A part of him worried that this would all disappear if Sakura was to choose Sasuke, but he refused to focus on that thought and instead decided to make the best of it.

He was aware that anybody else would have demanded she choose by now, but Gaara didn't want to rush her into making her decision, just in case she chose the wrong one. What was worse than being without her was the thought of being with her when her heart belonged to another. Gaara was never one for sharing and it was the same when it came to Sakura, which was another reason why he had been so adamant about them having sex. If he was going to have sex with her, Gaara wanted it to be only him who did so, which meant she would have to choose between him and Sasuke.

What made the situation worse was that Sasuke didn't know a single thing about it! He didn't know that he and Sakura were somewhat together, he didn't know about her mental illness or that she had been raped. Sakura had told him before that Sasuke preferred to reveal his feelings through his actions, but Gaara wasn't too sure if she was being taken for a fool or not. Yes, it was obvious Uchiha cared for her, but was he simply using her for sex? Damn it. It made him feel so angry. The thought of Sasuke touching Sakura made him want to smash something to pieces, preferably the Uchiha's skull.

It was strange because he didn't feel betrayed. Even though other people would have felt betrayed, Sakura was completely honest with him. She told him that her mind kept detaching during sex with Sasuke, but he didn't notice and continued whereas Gaara would have stopped immediately. Hearing that had made it feel like his heart was being stabbed with a knife and before he could even stop himself, he had told her to stop sleeping with Sasuke, using the excuse that if she kept letting her mind detach itself automatically, it was going to be harder to try and stop it. The truth was though that he didn't want her having sex with Sasuke. He didn't want her anywhere near the Uchiha, he wanted her with _him_.

Gaara inwardly chided himself for being so jealous and childish. He couldn't blame Sakura for being so confused about what to do, especially when he saw how much it hurt her. When she had slept with Sasuke, she came to him in tears, telling him how sorry she was for betraying him. In the past month, she had only done that once, which made Gaara a little happier since it could have been a much larger number considering how many times she and Sasuke hung out, but not entirely.

The excuses she used for turning down Sasuke's advances were always different, some hardly even believable whilst others the Uchiha could believe. In a way, Gaara felt sorry for Sakura. The girl couldn't even take her top off around Sasuke! Which, secretly, he was grateful for, since he didn't want Uchiha seeing her topless. There was a stubborn, childish voice in his mind that kept repeating the word 'mine' over and over again whenever he thought of Sasuke touching her.

Despite his words, Gaara and Sakura still couldn't keep their hands off of each other. The first time he broke his promise to wait was when they had been walking to his bedroom. One moment, it was like they had been simply walking and then the next, Gaara had her pinned to a wall and was kissing her so intensely that it made her unable to keep herself standing. They still hadn't had sex, of course, but with the way they were going…

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Gaara looked down at the girl laying against him. She was quieter than usual, telling him that she was thinking about something.

His hand came up to her face, gently pushing aside her hair. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"How can you read my expressions so easily?" she let out a breathy laugh, but he could see that her question was serious, that she really wanted to know how he did it.

There was a soft shrug before Gaara tilted her face up to face his and as he spoke, he gently caressed the parts of her face he mentioned. "When you're angry, your eyebrows knit together, though the right one starts twitching a little and your eyes narrow. When you're sad, your eyebrows furrow and your eyes squint ever so slightly, like you're trying not to cry. When you're happy, your eyes crease at the corners and your lips lift at the corners. It makes your face seem so much brighter, prettier, when you're smiling. When you're thinking, you frown softly, but if it's something big or serious that you're thinking about, you scowl. When you're about to cry, your lips press together tightly and your eyes close to try and hide your tears. When you're nervous, uncertain or scared, you bite your lip. And…" his voice took on a teasing tone as he smirked at her. "When you need the bathroom your nose wrinkles for a second before you frown."

"You can tell when I need to pee?" Sakura asked in disbelief, though he could see the amusement in her eyes. "And here I thought I wasn't that easy to read."

"You're not very good at hiding your emotions." Gaara commented as his thumb stroked her cheek. He always loved touching her, not only sexual touches, but tender, loving touches too. Gaara liked that she didn't pull away from him, that she didn't flinch whenever he lifted his hand. She wasn't afraid of him. "What were you thinking about?"

Sakura bit her lip before releasing it, remembering what Gaara had just said about him knowing when she's nervous because of biting her lip. He smirked softly at her, but otherwise said nothing as he watched her breathe deeply before answering. "I was thinking about what you keep telling me. How you keep saying I should tell Naruto and Sasuke about being bipolar." Gaara was silent and noticing this, Sakura looked up into his eyes, silently asking herself if he knew she could see the apprehension that was suddenly in his eyes. "I–I'm not ready to tell them everything… but I think… if I just told them about being bipolar it might help them understand why I acted the way I did before I left."

He couldn't deny that her words were making him uneasy. What if Sasuke finally gave into his emotions and showered her with affection and love? What if he lost Sakura to the Uchiha? Gaara was aware that being with Sakura whilst there was a chance she could love another was foolish, but it didn't change how he felt. At the end of the day, if being with Sasuke made Sakura happy, then that was all that mattered.

There was nothing more Gaara wanted than for her to be happy.

Reigning in his emotions, he gave her a soft smile before continuing with his gentle caress. "You're doing the right thing."

Once again, Sakura was biting her lip. "I'm also going to tell Sasuke about you, about _us_."

His hand stilled and for a moment, hope filled his chest, no matter how hard he tried to push it down. Not being able to stop himself, Gaara pressed his forehead to hers and smiled again. A real smile this time. "It's for the best. Uchiha deserves to know that he'll have to fight for you now," gently rolling them over so that he was above her, he lowered himself until his lips were brushing her against ear, "because I'm not going to let you go without a fight."

"Such a romantic." she giggled as his lips pressed against her jaw.

The feeling of her hands stroking his arms, shoulders and wherever else she could reach made him relax more, if that was even possible at this point. However, as Gaara glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table, he sighed.

"I need to go." when Sakura whimpered, Gaara smirked and murmured against her lips, "It's not like you're never going to see me again. I will meet you at school."

With a huff of annoyance, Sakura pressed her lips to Gaara's a final time before he got out of bed.

* * *

><p>There was a last minute assembly in ten minutes and Sakura couldn't help but wonder what it could possibly be about. As if that wasn't strange enough, but the year above and below would be joining their year for the assembly, which was even more unusual. Normally, her year's assembly was on a Thursday morning and the only times other years had joined theirs was because of an emergency.<p>

Looking through the crowd that all seemed to be heading towards the cafeteria, Sakura bit her lip. She had been looking for Sasuke for about fifteen minutes now but it seemed as though she couldn't find him anywhere!

However, just as she thought she wouldn't be able to find him, Sakura spotted a head of blond hair and inwardly screamed with annoyance when she saw that Sasuke was with Naruto. How could she get him to come with her now? Sighing, Sakura made her way towards him, ignoring the twisting of her gut and the aching of her heart as she did.

The two boys looked up the same moment that the colour pink caught their eyes and seeing that Sakura was heading straight for them, Naruto's eyes widened whilst Sasuke had to hold back a growl. What was she doing? Was she trying to make things awkward?

Finally reaching them, Sakura made sure to keep her eyes away from Naruto's, even when she could feel his eyes on her. For a moment however, she could say nothing as the pain in her chest flared. "I–I need to talk to you." Sakura spoke quietly and bit her lip before looking down at the ground. "It's about something serious… and private."

All Sasuke could do was stare at her, but when Sakura looked up with pained eyes, he nodded once before turning to look at Naruto, who was looking between them with a frown. Then, when Naruto nodded to him and walked off, Sasuke turned back to Sakura. "What is it?"

"You're coming over tonight after practise, right?"

He nodded again. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, but then nodded hesitantly. "There's something I need to tell you tonight. It's important and… if we're going to continue this relationship or whatever we are then you have the right to know. No… you _need_ to know."

The sound of the bell ringing told them that assembly would be starting in two minutes and since they were already together, both she and Sasuke entered the large hall and sat at the front. She was at the end of their row, so thankfully she only had Sasuke sat by her side. The last time in assembly, she had some girl who quite clearly didn't like her sitting next to her. The only reason Sakura knew she didn't like her was because the other girl kept 'accidentally' elbowing her during the entire assembly. Well, she did until Sakura elbowed her right back, earning her a sharp yelp of pain.

Slowly, the hall filled with her year as well as the year below and above and they all started to whisper to one another as the curtains hiding the large screen drew back of their own accord. Everyone looked at one another in question. Were they watching a movie? Was there going to be a presentation? Where were all the teachers? Who was doing that?

Sakura looked behind her and spotted Kakashi as well as Kurenai and Asuma right at the back of the hall. Kurenai and Asuma were there because they couldn't leave a hall full of students unsupervised and Kakashi was there because of Sakura's fear of being around so many people. She couldn't see their expressions clearly, but Sakura could tell that they were also confused as Kakashi had straightened out of his usual slouch and was scanning the large hall with narrowed eyes.

"…_w__hat happened between me and Naruto was over two years ago and what happened between me and Sasuke…__" _There was a brief pause as the speaker stopped speaking for a couple of seconds._ "__Gaara, I love Sasuke so much that it hurts__…__ but I'm also falling in love with you__."_

Her eyes widened as she quickly turned back to the screen, only to see herself and Gaara sitting side by side in a field. It was sunset and the stars had started to reveal themselves, but of course, Sakura already knew that. Her back as well as Gaara's were to the camera, but that didn't seem to affect the microphone. Once again, the whispering started up again as many people turned to look at her, Sasuke included since he was sat next to her. His eyes were silently demanding that she explain herself, but Sakura couldn't find her voice.

"_I want you to be able to trust me." _Sakura's soft voice spoke._ "I know… I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but if you just _told me_ how I can start to earn it__–__"_

On the screen, Gaara looked down at her, but his expression was hidden from the camera._ "What happened to you before you left?"_

Sakura's hand went up to her mouth as she cried out. No! Nobody could see this. Sakura sat up straighter as she spun around, only to see that Kakashi and the other teachers had frozen, staring up at the screen in shock. As she was about to turn around, she saw Gaara sitting on the back row, looking equally as shocked. Their eyes didn't connect like she wanted them to; he was too busy staring up at the screen in horror, in shock, in pure _anger_.

Turning back around, Sakura saw that Sasuke's eyes were staring at the screen intensely.

"Sasuke–" Sakura whispered desperately, but she was interrupted by her own voice.

"_There had been a fight between Naruto and Sasuke, a fight over me. They weren't fighting like they usually did, they were physically attacking one another and it hurt me so much to see them hurt each other. I tried to get them to stop and eventually, they did_ _thanks to Sasuke's brother interfering, but Naruto's eyes were filled with so much betrayal and hurt and Sasuke's eyes were guarded as they always are. We all said some things before I stormed off._

"_Nobody knows this part of the story… not even my parents, Kakashi or Tsunade. I'm telling you this because I want you to know everything. I want to know that I can trust you with anything and by knowing all of this, you can trust _me_. I was walking…" _At that moment and on the recording, Sakura's breathing came out in uneven breaths_. "I was walking down the road __–__ you know the one that leads straight to my house?" _On screen, Gaara nodded once._ "I was halfway home when I was grabbed from behind and before I could even react, I was dragged into the woods where I was beaten and… and r–raped__.__" _As people turned to stare at her, Sakura's body started to shake just like on the video. _"The man… he left me in the woods thinking I was dead. At the time, I wished that I was."_

Sasuke quickly turned to stare at Sakura, for once his eyes not hiding his emotions as her own filled with tears. Seeing pain, guilt and anger in his eyes did nothing to help her. No, what she wanted was for the person doing this to show themselves! Remembering what she had said next, Sakura looked away from Sasuke, her eyes practically burning holes into the screen as her tears silently fell down her cheeks.

"_Sakura…"_

Back on the screen, Sakura shook her head. _"It wasn't until after five in the morning that I finally managed to get up and drag myself home. My parents thought that I was staying over at Sasuke's with him and Naruto; they didn't ask questions since we had all been best friends since we were kids. I didn't… I didn't want to wake them." _Her sob caused even the coldest of people in the room to have a lump rise in their throat. _"I didn't want them to see or know what had happened to me. So I locked myself in my bedroom and soaked in the bath and it was like part of me was hoping if I bathed long enough, I could wash away what had happened. I didn't eat for days afterwards and I couldn't sleep properly. I could tell my mom and dad were worried, but I kept pushing them away because I was scared that they'd judge me__._

"_I had never felt so alone before in my entire life." _came Sakura's broken whisper as she clutched her knees tightly against her chest. _"Ino had stopped talking to me and at the time, I had no idea why. Naruto and Sasuke were both ignoring me and everyone else who I thought were my friends also avoided me."_ Sakura sobbed once again before speaking. _"It hurt so much. I felt so down, so disgusting…"_

Everybody in the hall gasped once again as on the recording, Sakura lowered her legs and lifted her sleeves to Gaara. Although the camera didn't show what she was showing him, it was more than obvious what it was, especially when they saw his body stiffen.

Sakura looked down at her wrists both on screen and off. _"I disappeared from home for about two weeks and I did some… some awful stuff with people I didn't know. My parents found me one day when they were out searching for me and brought me home, screaming at me for acting so selfishly. A couple of days later, I tried to kill myself, but my parents found me in the bath__.__"_ Then, Sakura cried out, _"I still hear her scream my name at night when she has nightmares about finding me unconscious in the bath, bathing in my own blood. When my mom wakes up, the first thing she does is check on me, to make sure that I'm still there with her, that I haven't tried to leave her again._

"_I was admitted to a psychiatric __hospital__." s_he told him suddenly and on screen she was lowering her sleeves once again. _"Whilst I was there, they diagnosed me bipolar and suicidal."_

Sakura buried her head into her hands, wishing that she could just disappear right at that moment in time as she quietly sobbed. Sasuke looked at her in shock as Sakura started to shake but when he went to put a hand on her arm, she flinched away from him as though he had burned her.

"_You're bipolar?"_

She nodded once._ "Yes."_

"_I never realised…"_

"_Nobody did, not until it was too late. Being… Being attacked that night was the final push, though something else triggered the disorder long before it. Even after my mom saved me, I still wanted to die. I had tried starving myself, but they fed me through a drip and monitored my meals. I tried hanging myself, but they made sure somebody was watching me at all times__.__"_ On screen, Sakura ran a shaking hand through her hair before wrapping her arms around herself. _"I felt like I was suffocating, like I couldn't breathe. My mom… she didn't want me to come home until she knew for sure that I wouldn't try to kill myself again. I was never allowed any visitors except for my parents. I had to be watched as I ate, whilst I bathed._

"_It was so hard." __s_aid her broken whisper once again and it was obvious she was crying. _"But then… the thought of breaking out of that place, of seeing the outside world and actually feel the wind on my face or in my hair… it was enough to keep me going. I dreamt about getting better, getting out of there and seeing all my friends again, spending time with my family where I _don't _have to be watched. But the thing I dreamt about most was speaking to Sasuke, Naruto and Ino again. I wanted to tell them I was sorry for everything I had done to them, that I love them all so, _so _much." _

Another sob tore out of Sakura's chest as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"_Then when I finally do start to get my life back on track, when I'm finally allowed to socialise once again, I'm torn down by Ino in front of everyone. It had taken me so long to work up the nerve to step out of my house, to think that it would be safe for me to do so."_

People turned to glare at Ino, but she was too engrossed with the recording to even notice. Her skin had turned a sickly pale colour and her horrified eyes were wide and filled with tears. The memory of their fight in the cafeteria, of how Sakura kept yelling that she didn't know her… it all kept replaying in her mind. Bile started to rise in her throat, but Ino forced it down as she covered her mouth with her trembling hand. Beside her, Sai was watching her silently, wondering if there was something he should say or do.

"_When were you discharged?" _

"_Four months after being sectioned." _

"_You should tell them." _Gaara told her. _"Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all deserve to know."_

There was a sound of a scoff. _"Yeah, because I haven't tried so many times to explain myself to them, to apologise. Sasuke… at least he seemed to somewhat accept my apology, but he still doesn't know. I couldn't find a way to tell him. Naruto won't even look at me for longer than five seconds, let alone hear me out and every time I see Ino, she's trying to tear me down." _Sakura shook her head softly. _"I forgot how mean Ino could be when her anger and hatred was turned on you."_

Everyone grew silent once again. However this time, the sound of someone trying to break open a door filled the silence as well as their grunts.

On the screen, Gaara didn't reply, but he moved closer to Sakura and moved his hand almost hesitantly before holding hers.

"_Thank you,_" he said quietly after a couple of minutes of silence.

She looked at Gaara, who was clearly avoiding making eye contact._ "Thank you for what?"_

Sakura shot up out of her seat, knowing what was about to be said. As she did, her eyes connected with Gaara's and the latter looked as though he was close to losing it. Her breathing came quick as it felt as though everyone was looking at her, as though everyone was judging her. In the back, Kakashi stopped with trying to open the door to the room that held the computers for the big screen as he seemed to sense her discomfort, as he sensed her slipping.

The red haired boy finally caught her gaze. _"Thank you for telling me everything."_

It was one thing for them to know about her, but Gaara… what he had told her was in so much confidence, so much trust. Sakura couldn't allow for the others to find out. He didn't need another reason as to why he shouldn't trust people.

"_I don't__–_" he started to say, but was interrupted.

Before anyone could stop her, Sakura grabbed her chair and with an angry yell, she spun once and released it.

Her emerald eyes were wild as it connected with the screen, causing the glass to shatter and break as sparks seemed to fly from it before it started to release thick smoke. The students in the hall all tensed and some even shrieked as Sakura turned to them, as she looked through them all, trying to figure out who could have done such a thing.

However, before she could do anything else, Kakashi had silently approached her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides in a restraining hold. Her entire body tensed as dark memories flashed before eyes, causing Sakura to cry out and thrash. Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto all stood up immediately after hearing her cries of distress. After hearing her story, it wasn't too hard to guess at what Kakashi's hold was reminding her of. Just as they moved forward to help her though, Sakura smashed her head backwards into Kakashi's windpipe, making his hold loosen. As it did, she spun around and pushed him away from her, backing away as he regained his stance and took even breaths, trying to keep calm despite the pain and difficulty breathing.

"Sakura, it's okay." he told her as he stepped forward.

"Stay away from me!" Sakura spat, her features, voice and body language screaming distrust as her tears continued to fall. "Who the hell did that?" she screamed to the rest of her year and the year below and above. "Was that supposed to be some kind of sick, twisted joke?"

Nobody stepped forward and when she received no answer, Sakura fell to her knees. She felt completely and utterly ashamed of herself as she covered her face with her hands.

Her secret was out.

Now everyone knew the truth.

The only good thing about the past twenty minutes or so had been her quick thinking in stopping Gaara's secrets from also being revealed. Sure, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that her punishment for this would be severe, but it was worth it. If it meant Gaara's trust in her would remain undamaged, that he wouldn't fall deeper into his depression and hatred for people, his distrust of them, it was definitely worth it. She had said it before and she would say it again. No matter what, she would be there to protect him.

"Sakura." Kakashi spoke warily as he knelt down beside her. Sakura tensed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, but made no move to push him away. "Come on. We should get you out of here."

As he helped her to her feet, Sakura looked up at the still full hall. Her eyes were filled with defeat and pure hatred as she mumbled to them, "I hope whoever did this is happy now." However, just as Kakashi went to place his arm over her shoulder, Sakura's entire body tensed once again. "Let me go." she said quietly. "I don't need help. I can walk by myself."

Kakashi seemed unsure, but did as Sakura asked as she walked out of the hall. He kept right on her heels as she walked, ready to catch her if she fell.

Gaara was just about to leave the hall so that he could be there for her when a blond with blue eyes stood in his way. His eyes and features remained impassive as Gaara slowly looked over the boy before scoffing and moving to step around him. However, just as he did, the blond narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of him once again, his fists clenching.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me _everything_." Naruto spat angrily.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I think you can all guess why I was so excited to get this chapter out! Drama, drama, drama!  
><strong>

**When I first started writing 'They Never Knew', I never planned for it to be any longer than twenty, possibly twenty-five chapters. Now, I've almost finished writing it and I can tell you now that it's nowhere near over. I hope you all like long stories, because this one is going to be around seventy chapters long! And not only will it be filled with drama and angst, but also sex, violence and surprises! ;-)  
><strong>

**Thank you to those who not only reviewed, but also messaged me with their opinions on my shorts! I was kind of worried about looking a little slutty. Also, as for showing you a picture, look up 'short shorts Miley Cyrus white'. They're pretty much the exact same length, only mine are blue denim instead of white.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	29. I Was Able To See

**Chapter 2****9 ****– ****I Was Able To See**

"Why should I tell_ you _anything?" Gaara asked rather coldly, his emotionless glare making Naruto shift uneasily from foot to foot. It made Gaara want to scoff. So much for being tough. But then again, he knew how intense his glares could be. "Why do you even care?"

"_Of course I care_!"

Naruto's sudden loud yell made those who were still in their seats turn to face them, now watching eagerly when they recognised Gaara from the video and Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura's ex–best friend and ex–lover. Was a fight going to break out between them? And was that Uchiha Sasuke making his way over to them? Oh damn! There _was_ going to be a fight.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded, his eyes narrowing on Gaara.

In response, the redhead scoffed, looking at the Uchiha with disgust. "I'll admit, this _does_ concern you, but it has nothing to do with Uzumaki."

"It has everything to do with me!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a step forward, only to be stopped by Sasuke as he shoved him backwards.

"No, Naruto." Sasuke admitted rather reluctantly. "It _doesn't_ concern you."

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shock, betrayal and hurt, before it slammed back shut and his eyes narrowed with anger. "_Teme_! How the hell can you say that, eh? I've always cared for Sakura–chan!"

"So you're back to calling her Sakura–chan, now?"

It was obvious that Naruto was starting to get pissed off and not just a pathetic, schoolgirl sort of pissed off, but almost like how Gaara got pissed off. He was practically seething, spitting out between clenched teeth, "You know that I've always cared for her, Sasuke."

Oh Sasuke was _so_ not in the mood to argue with the idiot today, especially not after what he had just discovered. It felt like his stomach was burning and twisting, like he was about to throw up at any moment. Sasuke glared openly at Gaara. Sakura chose to tell _him_? Why did she go to Sabaku? She could have come to him! He would have listened to her and tried to help! What the hell was this guy to her? On the video, Sakura had said she was falling in love with Gaara.

His glare intensified.

But it seemed Gaara was unaffected as he once again scoffed. "So instead of going to see if Sakura is okay, you want to fight with me?"

For a moment, the Uchiha could do nothing but stare, too stunned to even speak, though his glare didn't lessen up at all. Gaara did have a point, though. What was he doing? He should have gone after Sakura like Sabaku tried to before Naruto stopped him. "Kakashi is with her." Sasuke retorted coolly, his eyes narrowing. "It's not like she'll want to see anyone."

"You really don't know her, do you?" Gaara smirked, but it was obviously forced and they could see the anger and hatred in his eyes, which only increased as his fists clenched tightly, like he was stopping himself from attacking them. "Do you really believe that she will want to be alone right now?" Again, there was only silence, making Gaara shake his head with annoyance. "You're wrong. If it's one thing Sakura hates more than anything, it's being alone."

Naruto tensed visibly.

That was all Gaara needed to pounce. "You, Uzumaki Naruto, were supposed to be her best friend. She always speaks so highly of you, always says nice things. I, for one, don't think you deserve the things she says or her feelings."

"What?"

"_For fuck sake_!" Gaara suddenly snapped, his glare intensifying and making Naruto take an uneasy step back. "Even _Uchiha _forgave her before you did!"

If Sasuke was affected by his glare or his words about him, he said nothing and instead turned towards the screening closet. It was where all of the computers were and the controls for the big screen. "Whoever did this is still in there." he commented. "They wouldn't have been able to leave since we were all in the hall and they would have been seen."

He had their attention immediately and both Sasuke and Gaara noticed how Naruto relaxed slightly now that the redhead wasn't verbally attacking him. Gaara didn't care. If he had to, he'd just find the blond later and deal with him. He was so sick of Sakura being hurt. She didn't deserve it at all! Damn it. How did such a great morning end up like this? It felt like he had woken up with Sakura weeks, maybe even months ago. It felt so far away and right now he wanted nothing more than to go back to that peaceful moment and hold her in his arms again, where she couldn't be hurt.

Gaara was outside the door in a second, slamming his foot and ramming his shoulder into it repeatedly and he didn't miss the startled shriek that came out from behind it, which only made him angrier.

"Gaara!" a voice snapped from somewhere near him, but Gaara was too livid to bother to look.

It wasn't until a hand grabbed his shoulder that he stopped, looking over his shoulder with such a menacing look that it had the woman stumbling backwards into a man. He recognised them both immediately. They were teachers here, Kurenai and Asuma. Sakura spoke of them often. Where the hell were they when all of this shit was happening? Why hadn't they stopped any of it?

"Calm down." Asuma warned him as Sasuke and Naruto made their way over to them. "We don't need any more drama today."

"Drama?" Naruto yelled in outrage.

It wasn't only Naruto who was angry as Gaara turned around fully. "You think this is just some petty school drama?" he demanded. "You have no idea what you're even talking about! You don't even know Sakura."

"You're wrong, Gaara." Kurenai responded quietly, trying her best to calm the boy without accidentally angering him further. Kakashi had warned her about him right before he left to help Sakura, warned both her and Asuma about how he got when he was angry. Unfortunately, she had failed to take notice of his warning not to touch the redhead. "I know Sakura quite well, not as well as you do, but well enough. I know for a fact that she wouldn't want any more attention today."

"Which is why we want to deal with whoever is in there." They were all surprised as Sasuke appeared beside Gaara, seeming to be on his side. If Gaara was shocked though, he didn't show it. "If we don't, then they'll find a way to sneak out of there."

Asuma shook his head. "There's only one door to that room. Whoever it is in there, they're not getting out any time soon unless they want everyone to know who they are."

Naruto gave him an annoyed look before shaking his head. "There's more than one way out of that room. Trust me." he sounded so sure, so certain that they couldn't help but look at him blankly, which made Naruto grin sheepishly and scratch the back of his head. "Well… you see… when I get tired of lessons… I kind of–"

"So this is where you hide to skip my lessons, eh?" Asuma narrowed his eyes before shoving his hands into his pockets and sighing. "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to focus on the person in there." he scanned the hall for a minute, not even paying attention to the others who were watching curiously and when he spotted two familiar faces (though they looked much paler than usual), his raised his hand to them and they immediately made their way over. "Choji, Shikamaru, I need you to go and find the janitor and make sure he has his keys for the screening closet."

Gaara looked over at Shikamaru, recognizing the name instantly, but choosing not to mention anything about the fact he was dating his sister or had been one of Sakura's closest friends. Instead, he merely said, "Tell him it's about Haruno Sakura." At their unsure, skeptical glances, he rolled his eyes. "During our time in detention, the old man grew fond of Sakura and always said that she's a nice girl and others should be more like her."

He, for one, was glad Sakura was one of a kind. If more girls were like Sakura then he wouldn't have… fallen for her? Was that what these feelings were? Gaara wasn't too sure. Whatever it was that he felt for her, it was strong and he would do anything to keep her from getting hurt and if somebody did manage to hurt her, then they would have him to deal with.

"She's friends with the janitor?" Naruto questioned, frowning as he watched Shikamaru and Choji rushing out of the hall, which was surprising for the two since one was lazy and the other… Well, it was safer to say that he enjoyed his food.

"Like I said," it was obvious Gaara was getting more annoyed by the second, but his anger was slowly calming down, "you don't know Sakura anymore. She and Akio often spoke with one another." his eyes narrowed on Naruto and Sasuke. "He was one of the very few people who treated her like she's a person."

Before either boy could reply, Kurenai spoke, her voice soft and quiet. "Gaara, is what we all saw today on that video true?" When Gaara simply stared at her, refusing to answer, she bit her lip. "I knew something was off about Sakura. That day when Kakashi had to take her out of class…" Kurenai shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I can't even explain what I saw! She was hysterical."

"I remember." Sasuke stated, his eyebrows knitting together. "Everyone in the class heard her screaming at Kakashi."

Kurenai nodded sadly. "I can't begin to imagine what she must be going through."

Just as Naruto was about to say something, three people started running over to them, the man at the back fiddling with his keys. There was a look of anger in his eyes as he stormed straight passed the group, only to pause when he spotted Gaara. "Gaara, is Sakura okay?" No answer, though Akio noticed how the redhead's fists clenched tightly. "I see." he nodded once, making the others stare at him in confusion. It looked as though he and Gaara were having some sort of telepathic conversation! "Take care of the girl, won't you?"

This time, Gaara nodded. "Open the door."

Akio did as Gaara told him, finding the key and unlocking the door with ease. Just as Akio tried to open it though, the person on the other side grabbed the handle and tried their best to keep it shut, which made Gaara's eyes narrow dangerously before he walked forward, Akio immediately moving back for him, and all but ripped the door from it's hinges, earning a cry of pain from the person when the handle was yanked out of their hold.

His vision turned red when he saw who it was.

It was Karin.

Before he could grab the redhead, a feminine figure appeared in front of him, her back to them and showing only her midnight blue hair. However, it seemed whatever expression on her face was terrifying as Karin's eyes widened a second before the girl shot forward, yanking Karin out of the closet and passed a slightly stunned Gaara. Then, her hand lashed out, slapping Karin harshly across the face so hard that her glasses flew right off and clattered to the ground.

"How could you do that?" the girl yelled, her usually quiet and soft voice loud and hard with anger.

All three boys' eyes widened when they saw the pearl–coloured eyes, making it obvious just who this girl was.

"Hinata?" Naruto called out, seeming completely and utterly shocked. Nobody could blame him, even Sasuke and Gaara were unable to hide their shock as the seemingly harmless Hyuuga had Karin almost in tears!

"Naruto–kun," she replied with a firm voice, though her eyes stayed locked on Karin's.

Naruto frowned, looking between Hinata and Karin, the latter quickly grabbing her glasses, cleaning the lenses and putting them back on whilst trying to ignore the murderous glares that were focused on her. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you and Sakura–chan were friends!"

"I may not know Sakura–san as well as you all once did or do." Hinata spoke softly, but there was an air of seriousness about her as her pale eyes narrowed. "I may not know her at all, but I have noticed that for the past couple of months, Sakura–san has been happy. Every time she sat beside me, she was unable to wipe the smile from her face. At first, I thought it was because of you, Sasuke–kun." she faced him, but then, her eyes trailed to the boy beside him. "But it was actually… because of you, Gaara–kun." There was a small, hesitant smile on Hinata's face as she twisted the ends of her sleeves between her fingers. "I know I am speaking out of place, but what Karin has done to Sakura–san… it has destroyed what happiness she had."

"Hinata…" Kurenai spoke softly, her eyes saddening at the sight of her pupil.

They were shocked as tears filled Hinata's eyes. "I saw the happiness in Sakura–san's eyes shatter when that video was played." her teary eyes turned to glare at Karin, who was simply stunned. "I always knew… I _always_ knew that quite a few of the 'popular' people were awful. I do _not _like labelling others, but from what I have seen today… from what _I always see_, what I say about you is true."

Suddenly, there were three people stood beside Hinata, startling the girl as she spun around to face them. However, after seeing who it was, she smiled, "Neji–nīsan, Lee–kun, Tenten–san!"

"Is there a problem here, Hinata–san?" Lee asked, his brows furrowing ever so slightly as he looked over at the group behind Hinata, who were all staring at the girl's back in shock.

Hinata shook her head. "Not at all, Lee–kun," she smiled. "I was just… I just had to tell them something."

Naruto frowned as he took a step forward. "Hey, Hinata, how do you know all of this?"

Her smile saddened as she looked over her shoulder at Naruto. Then, as she turned around fully, her smile slipped away. "Because when nobody else would speak to her, when she would sit beside me in English with Kakashi–sensei by her side, I was able to see."

"See what?" Sasuke frowned. A part of him was wondering if all girls were this dramatic.

"I was able to see that her smiles were not genuine." she half–whispered and had to refrain from bringing her hand up to her mouth. "There was pain in her eyes when she would look at you, Sasuke–kun. When she would look at anyone she remembered there would be great pain, regret and guilt in her eyes." Again, Hinata was hesitant as she turned to face Naruto. "But there was never a greater pain, regret or guilt in them than when she was looking at you, Naruto–kun."

His eyes went wide, "W–What?"

Hinata forced her tears back as she looked down at the ground. "I heard what happened between you both from the first fight between Ino–san and Sakura–san, but also from when Sakura–san was talking to Kakashi–sensei." she bit her lip softly. "I know it was wrong of me to listen and I feel bad for doing so, but I know that her friendship with you, Naruto–kun, meant a lot to her. You were her best friend, someone she believed she could rely on and have by her side when she needed you."

By now, Naruto's eyes had filled with tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Was what Hinata saying true? With the way Neji, Lee and Tenten were watching her, and with the way she looked so torn, it was obvious this information had been tearing her up. It was obvious she didn't know whether to tell him or not.

"I heard her say on more than one occasion that you were her 'boys'." Hinata smiled softly as she looked up at them. "But Gaara–kun, to Kakashi–sensei, she spoke about you the most. At least, recently she has." When she saw his icy blue eyes narrow, Hinata quickly looked down again. "T–They weren't bad things! She would tell him about how you were helping her, how you kept her grounded and from going 'insane'."

Gaara looked shocked, or as shocked as a boy who never showed emotion could, which was in fact quite a lot considering his eyes were wide and his lips were parted ever so slightly. "She…"

Hinata nodded and smiled once again when he trailed off. "She said quite a lot of things about you, Gaara–kun." Then, she looked at the others who were listening intently before looking back at him. "I won't tell you everything, because I'm not sure what some of it means."

He nodded once, finally managing to get his emotions under control. He was grateful that the Hyuuga girl wasn't going to say anything. Then, his eyes narrowed as he turned to Karin, the girl who had caused all of this, making her flinch.

"You–"

But he was cut off as a flash of platinum blonde hair stepped in front of him.

"You bitch!"

She took the words right out of his mouth.

"How dare you do something like that!" she all but screamed, her fist swinging forward and smashing into Karin's face. Her chest was heaving as Ino watched Karin fall to the ground, yelping in pain as she lifted a hand to her face. "Get up!" Ino yelled at her before moving forward and dragging the girl up by her hair. "What the hell gives you the right to hurt her like that? Even I know that posting shit like that is _too fucking far_!"

Throwing Karin to the ground, Ino kicked her in the stomach. "She was _raped_!" she suddenly screamed, once again lifting Karin, although this time by grabbing her blazer. "She tried to kill herself! How can you use something like that against her, huh? _What the fuck is wrong with you_?"

Asuma was there in an instant, holding Ino's arms behind her back as he pulled her away from Karin, but that didn't seem to stop the blonde as she kicked her legs out, her foot smashing into Karin's shoulder. The redhead screamed in pain this time, clutching at her shoulder as her features scrunched up in agony.

"Let go of me, damn it!" Ino demanded, trying to break out of Asuma's hold. "Asuma–sensei! This bitch needs putting in her place. She can't just get away with doing that to Sakura!"

"And she won't!" he simply replied, looking over at the group surrounding him. "All of you except Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, Neji and Tenten get to the headmaster's office. Kurenai, will you send everyone to class and Akio, was it? Will you please clean up the front of the hall? The big screen was smashed and there will be broken glass about."

They were all gone in an instant.

* * *

><p>Her palms were sweaty, but no matter how many times she tried to wipe off the sweat, it wouldn't work. The tears hadn't stopped falling and by now, Sakura had stopped trying to wipe them away or stop them. Also, her hair was a little dishevelled due to her running her fingers through it every couple of minutes whilst she paced Kakashi's office, waiting for him to return. Apparently he was speaking with Sarutobi, who had no idea that an emergency assembly had been called since he had been in a meeting. He had been gone for around twenty minutes now and Sakura could feel herself growing restless. Her earlier mood of pure exhaustion had passed and she could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins, almost making her tremble with the need to release energy.<p>

And then that was when she heard them.

A loud slam made the walls shake, startling Sakura as she jumped almost a foot into the air, effectively pausing her pacing. However, what she heard next surprised her all the more.

"_Get off of me! I can walk by myself." _It was Karin who said this, Sakura noticed and for a moment, she was confused. What was going on?

"_Not a chance!_" This voice startled Sakura. It was Naruto and she hadn't heard him sound so angry in a long time. "_After what you did to Sakura–chan–"_

He didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence as Sakura darted out of Kakashi's office, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The others seemed surprised by her sudden appearance and Naruto quickly let go of his hold on Karin as Sakura lunged.

"It was _you_?" she screeched, slamming Karin up against wall. "What the hell is wrong with you? What have I ever done to make you hate me this much?" Before Karin even had the chance to speak, Sakura pulled her away from the wall before slamming her against it again, making the air painfully rip out of her. "I'd beat the shit out of you, but it looks like somebody has already beaten me to it."

"You have me to thank for that."

At the familiar voice, Sakura let go of Karin like she had been burned and spun around to face the group behind her, her eyes widening with shock before they narrowed and her eyebrows knitted together uncertainly. "Why?"

"Why, what?" Ino frowned, rubbing her arm a little self–consciously, though she told herself it was because of how tightly Asuma had been holding her.

"Why did you beat the crap out of Karin?"

This time, Ino rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but look saddened. "Because even though you hurt me by doing what you did, you didn't deserve what happened to you, not today and definitely not last year."

"No," Sakura retorted a little bitterly, stepping to the side so that she was nearer to Gaara and so her back wasn't to Karin, who was also moving away from Sakura warily, "I just deserve to be belittled and picked on by _you_."

"You've got to admit, Sakura that what you did was a shitty thing for a best friend to do! You were like a sister to me." Despite her words being harsh, Ino's voice was soft. "But…" The blonde bit her lip, looking unsure for a minute before speaking again, a small smile on her lips, "even though I don't think we'll ever be able to be as close as we used to be, I would like to try and be your friend again."

Pity.

Ino was _pitying _her?

Just as Sakura was about to snap at her, to tell her that she didn't want her pity, a figure appeared behind her, his hand dropping onto her shoulder, though it acted more of a restraint than anything else.

"Sarutobi–sama will see you all now." Kakashi informed them, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he spotted Karin, though the look of anger was quickly replaced by cool indifference. "Sakura, I thought I told you to wait in my office?"

She looked up and over her shoulder at him. "If you were in my–"

"I understand." Kakashi interrupted her softly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. "Ino, Karin and Gaara, you all need to see Sarutobi–sama. As for the rest of you, you can go back to your lessons. Sakura, go and wait in my office."

"No." Sakura told him without missing a beat.

"What?"

"I'm going in there, too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I hate Karin. Not just in this story, but in the anime and manga too. Ugh! She does my head in. **

**Thank you all so much for leaving me reviews for the last chapter! They were honestly the best thing I woke up to and put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day.**

**By the way, if some characters are confusing you with what they're saying and how they're acting, just know that there is a reason behind it all.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	30. I Don't Want Pity!

**Chapter ****30 ****–**** I Don't Want Pity!**

"Sakura, are you sure you want to be here?" Kakashi asked her, looking over his shoulder into Sarutobi's office. "It's going to get a little crowded in there what with you, Gaara, Karin, Ino and myself."

No doubt Ino had to be there because of her beating Karin up. The thought made her smile slightly as she looked at the blonde who was currently glaring and clenching her fists. Karin was biting her lower lip, obviously being affected by all of the glares being sent her way and Gaara was, well, he wasn't showing any emotion. What still confused Sakura was why Hinata was there, but she was grateful for her presence.

"I want to know what happens." Sakura told him. "I want to know what is said about me and what happens to _her_," she pointed to Karin, "for what she did." Then, Sakura bit her lip as she looked at the other two males, who looked as though they were in a trance. "I want Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata to be there, too."

Naruto's head immediately snapped up. "Why?"

She tried to give him a smile, but it came out more like a twitch of her lips. "You're my boys." Her voice was soft and quiet. "I shouldn't have kept something like this from either of you. Even… even if I didn't tell you about what happened to me _that_ night, I should have told you both about being bipolar. Maybe that could have explained my behaviour and actions to you." Then, Sakura smiled softly as she looked over at Hinata. "I want Hinata there because she keeps me calm."

At this, everyone looked at her with wide, surprised eyes, but Hinata seemed to understand. She got that from many different people. It was what set her apart from the rest of her family, who manage to intimidate others with just their eyes.

"I understand." Hinata smiled.

Kakashi sighed, but nodded once as he gestured for everybody to enter.

Despite Kakashi's warning Sakura didn't think it was that crowded in the office. He was leaning against the wall, Sakura and Gaara were standing at the side of Sarutobi's desk, Karin was stood in front of everybody else and Ino was standing slightly behind her, but also at the side of her. Since she was only there to try and keep Sakura calm and the other two hadn't done anything wrong, Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto had been given permission to sit on the sofa that was against the wall Kakashi was currently leaning on. It was a tight squeeze with Hinata stuck in the middle, but it wasn't too bad. Well, if you ignored her burning face it wasn't too bad.

Sarutobi himself was currently pacing behind his desk, something none of them had seen him do before. The old man was always so calm, so collected. It really surprised them all that he looked close to tearing what little was left of his own hair out. Then, he quickly stopped and looked at Karin. "Do you have any idea of the damage you have caused?"

Karin's eyebrows knitted together. "I will repay you for the–"

"Not that!" Kakashi snapped angrily, once again surprising them all since he was another who was usually so calm. Honestly, having them both acting the way they were was putting Sakura on edge. "Do you have any idea of the damage to not only one student, but two, you have caused?" At her confused look, Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think both Sakura _and_ Gaara need my assistance?" It seemed realisation dawned on them all, but Kakashi continued anyway. "For all we know, you could have just undone any progress that was made in helping them cope!"

"I didn't know." she said softly, looking down at the ground.

Even though she had done all of those things, Sakura found herself feeling a little sorry for Karin. However, just as that certain thought entered her mind Sakura was reminded why the girl was in her current situation. She had tried to socially destroy not only her, but also Gaara. Why the hell did they all pick on him to get to her? It wasn't fair!

"No, not a single one of you knew what was wrong with either of them." Kakashi continued, his eyes narrowing further and quite honestly scaring some of them. "Not a single one of you realised how hard it was for Sakura to actually get out of bed in the mornings. Or for her to be able to–"

"Stop it." Sakura whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Kakashi, please stop it."

Gaara frowned down at her. "They should know the truth, Sakura."

She shook her head. "I don't want their pity! I wanted them to forgive me before they knew all of this. Now, I don't know whether they're forgiving me because they genuinely do forgive me, or because they feel sorry for me." Just as Kakashi was about to say something, Sakura glared at him and motioned to her old friends. "_Look_ at them, Kakashi! Look at their eyes. _They_ _pity_ _me_! Do you know how horrible that is? Do you know what it feels like to have your friends look at you that way?"

Naruto lowered his eyes to the floor, not wanting to see the tortured look in Sakura's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Almost everybody looked at Naruto sadly, but Sakura simply shook her head. "Shut up."

"What?"

At his confused tone and with the way his head snapped up so that he could look at her, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Kakashi, tell them the causes of bipolar."

"Sakura–"

"Tell them!" she screamed at him.

With a sigh, Kakashi looked at them all, but it was obvious to everyone that his words were directed mostly to Naruto. "What Sakura meant is what _triggers_ bipolar disorder, not what causes it, because the cause of it are imbalances of chemicals in the brain." he told them seriously. Again, Kakashi sighed. "A stressful circumstance or situation often triggers the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Like, for example, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, the death of a close family member or loved one and," there was a small pause, "the breakdown of a relationship."

Their eyes widened, but before any of them could say anything, Sakura was talking. "Don't you see, Naruto?" she spoke softly, but her voice was wavering. "It's because I hurt you. It's because of what I did that triggered my bipolar. I completely destroyed our relationship beyond repair. Before… Before that night we had been best friends. We would tell each other everything and do everything together. We trusted each other _so much_!" once again, her tears were falling. "Then because of what I did, everything changed. I couldn't look at you anymore, knowing what I had done to you.

"Every time I did look at you, I would see the pain and sadness in your eyes and it was so much worse than any physical blow I've ever felt. It made me feel sick to my stomach and it made me hate myself so much." she sobbed. "I didn't… I didn't mean to hurt you, I promise! I didn't mean to hurt any of you." her body shook as she tried to hold back her sobs. "That night… That night that I was… all I could think about when I tried to get away was that I couldn't die. Not until I had told you how sorry I was." she bit her lip to the point of almost drawing blood before letting it go. "After, my mind was just… _so_ messed up. I left home, I did things I'm not proud of like drinking and taking drugs with random guys… I can't remember much, that time's a blur…"

They all tensed at her words, but didn't interrupt Sakura. No, they all knew that she needed to get it off her chest. "I let things happen that… I shouldn't have." Her arms lifted slightly and although her sleeves were down, it was obvious what she was looking at. She was looking at her scars. "These scars… they're always going to be there. They're always going to remind me of how dark it got. But…" a small smile graced her lips as her eyes slid to the person next to her. "Everybody spoke to me like I was a piece of glass, like just the simplest of things was going to make me break. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. Besides Gaara, the only other person who treated me like I'm not mentally ill is the woman who helps me, Tsunade–sama. Kakashi isn't too bad, but there's a look in his eyes sometimes." Sakura lowered her gaze back down to her scars, not knowing where else to look. "It's the look of pain and sadness and it scares me. Is he looking at me with that look, or does he feel that way in general?"

Before Kakashi could speak, Sakura continued. "Don't." she looked up to him with a watery smile. "I'd rather not know… especially if it's the former." Then, her eyes went back to her old friends, two of which were in tears as well as Hinata. Sasuke looked like he was just about holding it together. "The only people _I've_ ever told about being bipolar are Gaara and his sister, Temari. But Gaara is the _only one_ I've ever told the full story to. Not even Tsunade–sama knows the whole story." she looked down at the ground. "I was too ashamed about what happened and I hated myself. At one point, I hated you guys." The three gasped at her words. "You might not have known about my illness, or about what happened, but you still didn't come to check on me.

"I was missing for _eight months_. Not minutes, not hours, not days or weeks, but months. Do you know how much that hurt? Every day that I was in that place, _every_ _single_ _day_ that I was being watched in case I tried to kill myself again, all I could think was '_why __do__n't they care_'. I know that what I did hurt you guys, especially you two," she motioned to Ino and Naruto, "but if you had just heard me out, if you had just _listened to me instead of turning your back on me_–"

There was a hand on her shoulder and as Sakura looked up, she saw the serious gaze of Gaara, which surprised her a lot. It seemed the past few months really had matured him, helped him grow and become a better person. He still had a lot of anger inside of him, but he seemed better. He seemed happier. Well, not right now he didn't look happy, but still. "Sakura, I think that's enough." Gaara told her, his brows knitting together slightly. "Look at the affect your words are having on them."

As she looked over at them, Sakura immediately looked away. Naruto was no longer trying to hold back his tears. His head was in his hands and his body was trembling. The girl beside him was rubbing his back softly, trying to help him calm down whilst Hinata herself shed a few tears. Sasuke, at the other side of Hinata, was staring blankly at the ground, trying to keep his tears from being noticed by lowering his head so that his hair hid his eyes. On the other side of the room, Ino was sniffling and shaking, her eyes were red and her mascara had run down her cheeks because of her tears. The only person who didn't look upset was Karin, though her eyes had softened slightly with pity and guilt.

"I wanted you all to forgive me because you love me." Sakura said softly. "I didn't want you to forgive me because you pitied me."

"How can you say that?" Sasuke snapped angrily, standing up and clenching his fists. At this, Gaara narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, but Sasuke ignored the red haired boy. "After saying all that, after learning what we just learned, how can you expect us not to pity you? You've gone through all of that on your own!"

Many looked surprised to see that not only was Sasuke getting so wound up, but he was speaking in longer and more emotional sentences. However, Sakura merely narrowed her eyes. "I didn't go through it alone! At first I did, but afterwards, I had my parents there. I had my mother by my side, helping me even when I screamed at her to leave me alone, even when I cried and begged for her to just _let_ _me_ _die_!" It was obvious that Sakura was becoming more hysterical by the minute, but nobody knew what to say to calm her down, not even Hinata, Gaara or Kakashi. "I had Tsunade–sama there. Even though she's a proud woman, I could open up to her about how I was feeling! I had Kakashi there! He didn't force me to talk about how I was feeling. He just made sure I was comfortable, that I was as happy as I could possibly be given my condition." Sakura's eyes became angrier and her voice grew louder. "I had Hinata and Sai there! We may not have talked much, but at least they _smiled_ at me. Do you know how many people here smile at me? And I don't mean in the nasty, sly way. Hinata and Sai were two of the very few people who looked passed what I had done.

"_I had Gaara there_!" she screamed even louder, her voice cracking and straining and making a few of them flinch. "Even though he's moody and angry all the time and he likes to keep people at arms–length, he _let me in_! Despite me being a bitch and despite me having never noticed him before, he gave me a chance. Even though with that chance were snide remarks, the bitchy comments and the disgusted looks wherever we went, he still gave me it! And do you want to know something? Gaara doesn't even expect anything in return. He defended me so many times, even against his own family. Even after learning everything, Gaara still looks and speaks to me like _I'm a person_!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Copying him, Sakura's eyes also narrowed. The pair seemed to have forgotten everyone else in the room as they glared at one another. "It means, Sasuke, that whilst you were too busy _fucking __me_ Gaara was there for me emotionally!" There was a pause and in that pause, the silence was almost deafening. Then, when she spoke again, her voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Even _Itachi_ was there for me."

The silence seemed to grow even louder at her last words and immediately, everybody looked to Sasuke, who seemed to not know what to do.

"Like Kakashi, Itachi did and does whatever he can to make me comfortable and as happy as I can be." she told them, her voice sounding a little hoarse because of her screaming. "We go out for food and he takes me to the movies. Hell, we even went to the mall together!" Sasuke looked down at her, his eyes a mixture of hurt, sadness and betrayal. "What I'm trying to say is that even though he didn't know much, he could still always tell that something was wrong. Despite being busy with the company, Itachi still made time for me."

The others were still in surprise at Sakura's previous words, about how Sasuke had been sleeping with her. Sarutobi looked as though he didn't even know what to say, as did Karin. Ino looked hurt, Hinata looked shocked. But Naruto, Kakashi and Gaara's eyes had all hardened as they looked at the Uchiha.

"It's always her."

Everybody looked at Ino in confusion whilst the blonde was simply looking at Sasuke sadly.

"No matter what I do it's always going to be Sakura, isn't it?"

However, before he could reply, Sakura all but screamed at her, "_Shut up_! Will you just listen to yourself? You're acting as though you're in love with Sasuke, but you're not! Are you really that blind? Can't you see that somebody else has been falling in love with you?"

Ino's eyes widened, "W–What?"

"Don't make me spell it out for you, Ino." Sakura snapped. "You know who it is just as well as I do. You're not in love with Sasuke; you're in love with the boy who loves you back! So why won't you just admit it and be with him? You could be so happy with him! Why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

"I think we're steering off topic." Sarutobi finally spoke up as he cleared his throat. "What I want to know is why were you," he looked at Karin, "following Sakura and Gaara?"

Karin's mouth opened and closed for a couple of seconds before she finally managed to speak. "I wasn't following them!" At Sarutobi's raised eyebrow, Karin rolled her eyes. "Okay, so maybe I was, but who could blame me? I was there during that party. I saw the argument between Sakura and Gaara and it was obvious something was going on between them. I mean, how else could somebody like him get in a place like that?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sakura snapped as she took a step forward, but Gaara grabbed her arm and pulled her back, shaking his head at her.

After watching Sakura carefully, Karin turned back to Sarutobi, who was watching her with an empty expression, but Kakashi, Naruto and Hinata could see the disappointment in the man's eyes. "Anyway, when I saw Gaara leaving, I knew it would only be so long until she left too." then, Karin shrugged. "So I followed them. Ino said it was fine if I did."

"What?" Ino shrieked. "Don't go bringing me into this!"

Karin's head snapped to the side to glare at Ino. "You did! I asked you if I should follow them to see if anything happened and you said whatever."

"I was drunk that night!" she practically screamed. "Everybody saw how drunk I was! I had to leave early because of it."

Sakura bit her lip. "Even though I'm pissed, Ino _was_ pretty drunk that night."

Gaara nodded once, remembering everything the blonde had said to them.

Once again, Karin's mouth popped open and closed until it snapped shut. "It still doesn't change the fact that she told me it would be okay! I only asked her because I noticed her trying to mess with your relationship. Nobody wants to step into Yamanaka Ino's territory!" Karin's eyes narrowed, obviously disliking having to admit such a thing. "When you went into the field, I only started recording because I thought something else was going to happen and I was going to post it onto the school website."

Naruto growled as he shot up out of his seat. "So if they had had sex in the field, you would have watched and recorded it? Can't you hear yourself and how creepy that sounds?"

The red haired girl shrugged. "I don't care. I've been made to record much worse."

"But that was just under a month ago." Sakura frowned, ignoring the girl's second sentence. "Why didn't you do what you did today straight away?"

Karin narrowed her eyes. "Despite the fact that I don't like either of you, I had second thoughts. I watched the video – the _whole_ video – over and over again. I kept wondering if destroying you was really worth it."

"What made you post the video?" Kakashi demanded.

"I heard about her and Sasuke." she snapped, her eyes narrowing even further on Sakura. "Right at the last minute, I changed my mind and I didn't want to do it anymore, but then, I heard you and Sasuke on one of the corridors, telling him that you wanted to talk about something serious."

Sakura bit her lip and looked down at her feet. "I was going to tell him about being bipolar as well as… about my relationship with Gaara." at their wide eyes, Sakura smiled. "You guys saw the video, surely you heard Gaara telling me to tell you all?" she then shrugged. "He kept telling me to at least tell Naruto or Sasuke, but since Naruto wouldn't even look at me…" she looked up at Sasuke. "And since you were one of the very few people who I had left…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" They were all surprised at the softened tone in Sasuke's voice. It seemed he was purposely ignoring the second half of her first sentence about her being in a relationship with Gaara.

"I was going to. I was going to tell you tonight." Sakura whispered. "It's one of our study nights, remember? Don't tell me you've forgotten!" There was a teasing tone in her voice before she grew serious. "I didn't tell you straight away because I wanted to be sure that telling you would be the right thing to do. I didn't want you to back off or change the way you look at me." Again, Sakura bit her lip. "When I got up this morning, I decided that I would tell you tonight. I'm actually surprised my mom hasn't told you yet."

Sasuke's eyes widened as realisation flooded his features. "She was always saying strange things, but I thought she was simply asking me to look out for you." At Sakura's questioning gaze, he spoke again. "Mebuki kept telling me to make sure you don't do anything reckless, or something you might regret. There were other times when she would smile at me and thank me for just being there for you."

The pink haired girl smiled and shook her head. "I swear, my mom is–"

"The best." Naruto smiled. "What more could you ask for? I mean, she even spoke to _my _mom."

"What?" Everyone asked in unison.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "When me and my mom were watching a thunderstorm," both his and Sakura's eyes saddened slightly, confusing the others, "she kept asking me questions about you." he told Sakura. "Then she told me that she spoke to your mom one day and they sat down and talked for hours or something. She kept telling me that there were things about you that I didn't know, but she wouldn't tell me what they were so I ignored her."

"Your dad knows, too." Sakura said softly. "Minato–san spoke with Itachi during one of my sessions with Tsunade–sama."

Looking down at the ground, Naruto frowned. "I didn't know."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside in the reception area, causing everyone to jump due to it having been so quiet in the office. Then, there was the sound of somebody yelling angrily.

"What is that noise?" Sarutobi demanded, even though he already had a very good idea what – or _who_ – it was.

No explanation was needed as a second later, the office door slammed open, crashing against the wall and leaving a dent in the plaster, making Sarutobi sigh. He had only just had it fixed from when Gaara had done the same. Where the door had once been was now an enraged, busty blonde with the fire of hell burning in her eyes. At the sight of the woman, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Tsunade–sama!"

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><p><strong>AN - Thank you so much for all your reviews!  
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**I don't have much to say because I need to hurry up and get going - I'm getting my hair done! No more blue!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!:-)**


	31. The Legendary Tsunade

**Chapter ****31 ****–**** The Legendary Tsunade**

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside in the reception area, causing everyone to jump due to it having been so quiet in the office. Then, there was the sound of somebody yelling angrily.

"What is that noise?" Sarutobi demanded, even though he already had a very good idea what – or_ who _– it was.

No explanation was needed as a second later, the office door slammed open, crashing against the wall and leaving a dent in the plaster, making Sarutobi sigh. He had only just had it fixed from where Gaara had ruined it. Where the door had once been was now an enraged, busty blonde with the fire of hell burning in her eyes. At the sight of the woman, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Tsunade–sama!"

"You always know how to make an entrance, don't you, Tsunade?"

The blonde rolled her eyes at Sarutobi, "Whatever you say, old man." Then, her eyes moved to Sakura. "Care to inform me why I have just had your mother screaming down the phone at me?"

Sakura groaned as she looked at Kakashi. "You told my mom?"

Everybody else was in silent awe at the sight of the blonde. Like Sarutobi had just said, she had definitely made an entrance. Even Sasuke, Kakashi and Gaara looked stunned beyond words before Kakashi cleared his throat and focused on what Sakura had been saying.

"What we found out was pretty serious, Sakura." Kakashi told her, his eyes narrowing in concern. "What happened to you… it's not something that should be ignored."

"I _want_ to ignore it!" she yelled angrily. "Telling Gaara terrified the crap out of me and now you want me to tell everyone, especially after what _she_," her hand lashed out in front of her, gesturing to Karin, "has done?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes before moving forward to block Sakura's view of Karin. She could see that just the sight of the other girl was infuriating Sakura and in response to her rude dismissal, Karin bristled, but Tsunade inwardly dared the brat to try something with her.

"Calm down, Sakura!" she barked and immediately, Sakura shut up and straightened, looking up at Tsunade as the woman continued. "You won't be telling everyone, just me and your parents until you're ready to make a statement. We're doing this to help you. If you had just told us about it as soon as it happened, then we could have dealt with this much sooner. Keeping something as big as this hidden and bottled up inside of you isn't only dangerous for you, but others around you. How would you feel knowing you've harmed someone you care about because you snapped? And I know for a fact that you know how that feels."

Sakura looked around the room at everyone she cared about, who were all watching in shock since Tsunade actually managed to silence Sakura. They had never really met anyone who could do that before, for Sakura had always snapped back. Biting her lip, she looked back up at Tsunade, who was now watching her expectantly. "I don't want my parents in the room." Just when she was about to argue, Sakura continued. "Tsunade–sama, it's bad enough that they now know what happened. I don't want them to know the details."

"You're not eighteen yet, Sakura." the blonde spoke calmly. "You need to have a parent or legal guardian with you, especially for something as serious as this. Don't you get it? You were _raped_, Sakura! Nobody is judging you and if they are, then they need knocking into next week and I will personally and _gladly_ do so myself."

Everybody suddenly realised why Sakura didn't answer back to Tsunade. With just a simple sentence, they realised she was too much like the pink haired girl. Both were violent, short tempered women.

Sakura looked down at the ground. "Can't I have somebody other than my parents there?"

At this, Tsunade rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You can't take your boyfriend with you, Sakura," motioning to Gaara before putting her hand back on her hip, not noticing how Sasuke tensed at her words, "he doesn't look any older than you, so it would be inappropriate. This guy," Tsunade narrowed her eyes on Kakashi, "given that he is your assistant, I may let you off. You're Hatake Kakashi, aren't you? Former student of Namikaze Minato."

Kakashi nodded once before bowing his head respectfully, "Tsunade–sama."

"Hm," the blonde raised an eyebrow, "my conversations with Sakura lead me to believe you're nothing more than a pervert who is late to everything."

At her words, Gaara smirked and Sakura and Sarutobi chuckled whilst Kakashi sighed dejectedly. "And here I thought you were starting to like me, Sakura." he then smiled cheerfully. "You seemed happy enough discussing '_Icha Icha_' with me."

Tsunade raised a hand to her forehead. "That damned Jiraiya!" she snapped angrily whilst everyone except Kakashi and Gaara looked at Sakura in shock. "He's nothing more than a pervert!"

"Hey don't forget I was locked away for like _eight months_!" Sakura tried to defend herself. "I had nothing better to do!"

However, her words were ignored as Naruto shot forward, looking at Tsunade with wide eyes. "You know ero–sennin?"

"Ero–sennin, eh?" Sarutobi chuckled. "Of course she knows Jiraiya, Naruto! They've been friends ever since they were children."

"Even back then he was a pervert." Tsunade muttered before turning back to Sakura with a serious expression. "You don't have to tell me everything today, but you do have to come with me. Your parents are already heading to my office. Even though your mother wanted to come straight here, I told her it would be best to wait until later." Tsunade then sighed. "You're obviously not pregnant, but you need to be checked for STDs and HIV."

Not only Sakura's eyes widened, but so did Sasuke's and Gaara's. Sure, she had only slept with the former, but that didn't mean that she hadn't been intimate with Gaara. They may not have had sex, but they had done other sexual activities. "You don't need to worry about that." her cheeks burned red as everyone stared at her. "I had my doctor, Shizune–san, check me out after… after I tried to kill myself."

It was so hard saying the words out loud. Everybody knew she had tried to kill herself not once, but several times, but it didn't make it any easier to speak about it. In fact, it almost felt as though she was ashamed of her actions. Both Sasuke and Gaara relaxed considerably and it made her feel bad. What if she hadn't been checked out? Would she still have let them touch her? Would she still have touched them? Would she have put her own selfish need for human touch before them?

"Well at least you were smart enough to do something." Tsunade told her but then shrugged. "You still have to come with me though."

"Tsunade," Sarutobi chided, "must you discuss such things with a room filled with other students? I'm sure Sakura would rather they didn't know these things."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't, but Gaara and Sasuke both have every right to know these things. I never brought it up because… Well, I didn't feel as though I had to. I came back clear on almost all of the tests."

Their eyes widened.

"What?" Sasuke demanded.

She shook her head, her eyes widening. "I don't mean that! I mean…" Sakura looked down at the ground, her cheeks once again burning but this time, out of shame. "I failed the drugs test my mother ordered me to take."

"_You did drugs_?" Naruto exclaimed angrily. Suddenly, he was in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly even when her eyes shot up to his in fear. Everybody was frozen in place as Naruto started to shake her firmly. "Sakura–chan, I know that you've been through a lot, but why the hell would you do that to yourself? Why would you take drugs? Don't you remember all those times you yelled at people for taking them? Don't you remember those boring lectures you would give us all? Why would you do that?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed when Naruto's grip tightened even further, making Sakura whimper in pain, but before the blond could continue shaking her, he was by their sides, his hand gripping one of Naruto's wrists tightly enough to make him yelp in pain. But even when he did, Gaara didn't let go. It wasn't until Naruto let go of Sakura that he let go of him, turning to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Sakura smiled up at him despite the tears in her eyes.

"What the hell?" Naruto demanded angrily, rubbing his reddening wrist.

The redhead turned towards the blond, not caring that everyone was watching him with wide eyes. "Don't touch her."

It was Sasuke who was suddenly up in Gaara's face. "Why are you getting so defensive? Sakura isn't yours!"

"I'm not anyone's!" Sakura screamed at them all. "I'm not property, so I don't belong to _anybody_. I am my own person. If neither of you can accept that…" she didn't need to finish her sentence as both boys immediately stopped fighting. Then, she turned to Tsunade, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow, seeming almost amused. "I'm ready to go. I just need to get my things out of Kakashi's office." Before they left, Sakura looked over her shoulder, her eyes immediately going to Karin. "I'd be grateful if you could keep what was discussed in here and on the field private."

"Or you'll do what, eh?" Karin narrowed her eyes, not liking the way she was being spoken to. "Or you'll hit me?"

Sakura gave her a smirk. "As much as I'd love to put you through a window, no, you'll be hearing from my family's lawyers for recording and posting a video of me without my permission – don't forget, I'm also under age, so that makes it even worse." They were all shocked by her threat as she slowly turned around to face them. "My family is fairly well known and has a lot of contacts and not only did what you record have private information about me, but also about Gaara. It is also information that my mother fought very hard to keep hidden for my benefit. And believe me you do not want my mother on your back. So I'd watch myself if I were you."

Karin scoffed. "You'd actually take me to court?"

The smirk slipped away, revealing just how serious Sakura was as she stepped towards Karin, but the latter simply stood her ground as she glared at Sakura. "You're forgetting who I am, Karin and how the information I know about you could destroy you." Sakura warned her. "Remember our first year here? Back when you and your friends cornered me after school and cut all my hair off before beating me up? What was that about again?" Sakura pretended to look thoughtful before her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, I remember! It was because I was friends with Sasuke and he wouldn't even look at you."

"Is that true?" Sasuke demanded, his fists clenching tightly as he remembered the state she had been in. "Karin, was that really you who did that to Sakura?"

Karin didn't have a chance to speak as Ino stepped in, her eyes narrowing. "It's true. I remember Sakura coming in the next day with all her hair cut off and covered in bruises. When Karin saw her, she and her friends all laughed."

"That was years ago!" Karin snapped, placing one hand on her hip and leaning forward as she towered over Sakura. "Stop trying to scare me because it isn't working. The only reason why you don't want anybody, especially Sasuke, to see that video is because of what you and that freak did in the field."

The only sound that followed was the sound of a harsh slapping noise.

Sakura glared fiercely at Karin as the latter slowly brought a hand up to her face, seeming shocked at the pain that was immediately throbbing. Forget being beaten earlier by Ino. The slap she had just received from Sakura was much more painful. "Do_ not _call Gaara a freak." she spat, her eyes darkening with anger as everybody stared in shock. "The only freak around here is _you_. As for what we did in the field, you're making it sound as though we had sex."

"You may as well have had sex!" Karin smirked despite the pain in her cheek. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was backing down. "I saw your faces and the way you were acting and believe me it will never work out between you two. A poor brat like him–"

Again, Karin was slapped.

What surprised Sakura was that nobody was even stepping in to stop her.

"For your information, Karin, Gaara isn't poor. In fact, he's far from it! You only heard half the conversation we had that night, so you don't know the rest." Sakura grabbed her collar, bringing the taller girl down to her height. "And if I ever hear you speak a word about what Gaara and I talked about, or if I ever hear you call him anything offensive again, forget the lawyers and forget court, _I'll put you in the fucking hospital_."

With that, Sakura threw Karin to the floor before storming out of the office, leaving everyone stood there in shock, except for a smug looking Tsunade who immediately stepped towards Karin.

"You better do as she says, girl," Tsunade smirked, "her temper is almost as bad as mine and I will stand by her side to make sure that whatever she does to you will go unpunished. As her psychiatrist, I can make that happen and not only that, but I am _great_ friends with her doctor." Then, she gave Karin an obviously fake smile, not even caring that her words terrified them all. "Oh and don't forget who Sakura is friends with." At the girl's questioning look, Tsunade pointed over to Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata. "They're all from the most powerful families in the world, the Uchiha, Sabaku, Hyuuga and Namikaze–Uzumaki."

"Tsunade, I think that will be enough threats–"

Tsunade's eyes shot up to Sarutobi's, narrowed and deadly. "Do not interrupt me, old man. I'm having a _very_ bad day." she then turned back to Karin, who was now very pale. "Not only is Sakura friends with them, but she is also like a younger sister to Uchiha Itachi, who has a ridiculously large amount of contacts and not all of them are the types you want to mess around with. It will do you well to stay away from my patient, because if they don't do anything," Tsunade moved closer, her features turning more angry and deadly, "_then I will_."

Like Sakura had only moments before, Tsunade stormed out of the room, muttering something about needing some sake with a sighing Kakashi following behind.

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><p><strong>AN - Not a very long chapter, I know. But I needed to warn you all that I may possibly be losing the internet soon. Our services are being cut off because we're refusing to pay the bill. Not for the first time, they're trying to charge us triple the amount and I honestly can't blame my mum for refusing to pay. So, until we get set up with a new broadband and whatnot, I won't have access to the internet. I don't like updating on my phone because it just takes the piss with autocorrect. -.-  
><strong>

**This chapter was pretty dramatic, wouldn't you say? And I know that Tsunade didn't seem very scary here, or as angry, but I hope I got her character right. There's nothing worse than characters being OOC. I read this one fanfiction before where they made Sakura a 'Mary Sue' or whatever they're called. She started calling the Kyuubi her brother and shit and apparently people considered her as powerful as him even though she didn't have a tailed beast. I like to make Sakura powerful in my fanfictions, but I don't make her ridiculous like that.**

**Saying that, if anybody seems OOC to you, please tell me and I'll do what I can to fix it!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	32. Got To Get Away

**Chapter 3****2 ****–**** Got To Get Away**

"You can't let her speak to me like that!" Karin shrieked as she pulled herself up off the ground. Her eyes were glaring down at the seated Sarutobi, who was calmly looking back up at her. "I'm–"

"A 'nobody' compared to me." Sasuke snarled. "Like Tsunade, I'll stand by Sakura and if I hear you mutter so much a syllable about her or Gaara, I will make sure you lose everything."

Karin visibly paled, noticing all eyes on her. "Y–You might be an Uchiha, but even _you_ don't have that much power, Sasuke!"

As much as he hated to say it, Sasuke knew it was the truth. "Not yet I don't, but Itachi, my brother, does. Itachi isn't one to openly show his concern or feelings for another, so considering how open he's been to and _with_ Sakura," At his words, Naruto and Ino both smirked, "I'm guessing he's going to be _livid_ when he hears about this and believe me, he _will_ hear about this. Compared to me, you're a 'nobody', but compared to Itachi, you're even less than that. And as for Sabaku Gaara being a poor freak…" his voice turned reluctant as Sasuke glanced at the red haired boy before turning back to Karin. "I know he isn't. His sister happens to be in control of a company that is a rival of the Uchiha Company, the Sabaku Corporation. Not only that, but I know that Gaara is being prepared to take over as soon as he graduates."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Gaara, a bored look on his features. "Your sister let it slip during a business meeting where I happened to be present, since I am also being prepared to take over half of the Uchiha Company." Then, he turned back to Karin. "Where is the video, Karin? And I mean the original one as well as any copies you created."

There was the look of betrayal, anger, hatred and hurt that flitted across Karin's features before it finally settled onto arrogance. "I'm not telling you that." a deadly smirk played along her lips. "And for your information, Uchiha Sasuke, you're not the only one who has connections."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ino demanded, causing Karin to turn slightly so that her back wasn't to the blonde.

"You'll see." she told them all before turning to Sarutobi. "I won't be returning to this dump." Karin told the stunned old man. Then, she turned back to Sasuke and Gaara, an evil gleam in her eyes. "Believe me when I say, 'I'll see you around, boys'."

With that, she was out of the door.

Hinata swallowed hard as she stood from her seat. Her hand was half raised before finally, she pressed it to her trembling lips. Karin's words scared her, they really did and she had no idea how to take them. Should she be afraid? It didn't matter, because she already was. Should she be on guard? Most likely, considering the fact she had all but attacked her earlier when dragging her out of the technical room. Should she warn her father, or at least her cousin, Neji? Hinata pressed her hand even harder against her mouth. This wasn't something she could handle alone. She wasn't intimidating like the other Hyuuga family members because she was too soft and gentle, too emotional.

"Hinata," Naruto frowned softly, not liking the look of pure fear in the girl's pearl coloured eyes, "it'll be okay."

"H–How can you say that, Naruto–kun?" Hinata whispered harshly, her eyes still glued on the door Karin had left through. "Karin is so… so evil. Her eyes are filled with hatred…" Tears filled Hinata's eyes as they snapped up to Naruto's face. "W–What if she does something to Sakura–san?"

Anger flitted across the boy's features at just the thought of something happening to Sakura before he calmed himself. "Didn't you listen just now, Hinata?" he gave her a gentle smile that soothed her nerves slightly. "We're not gonna let anything happen to Sakura–chan. You heard Sasuke, right? That bastard has never gotten so defensive about anybody before. He's also never spoken of his brother like that before, either. He lives right next door to her–"

Ino stepped in, her features set in an impatient, annoyed expression. "Idiot, their houses are at least two miles apart."

Seeing that they were thinking too much into Karin's threats, Sarutobi finally spoke up. "Don't worry so much, Hinata. Karin may be many things and she may be angry right now, but I saw how she reacted during Sakura's speech. Whatever it was, Karin felt something for Sakura, whether it was pity, sadness or empathy. It was hard to tell with everything else that was going on, especially with all the surprises."

"Empathy?" Gaara scowled as he started to grow angry. "You think somebody like _her_ could understand somebody like Sakura? You think _any_ of you can understand her? What? You think just because she's told you all – _unwillingly_ told you all – what happened to her that you can all just go back to being friends again?" his furious eyes snapped to Sasuke. "And _you_," he spat through clenched teeth, "_you_ are the worst out of them all. Sakura may not see it, but I sure as hell do. Instead of speaking about it, you fucked her! You didn't make love to her – you just took her quickly and emotionlessly without even fully undressing her or treating her the way she deserves to be treated. _You wouldn't even look her in the fucking eye_! Every time you touched her in such a way, she came to me in _tears_ because of how worthless and unloved you made her feel. I bet you didn't even realise that she wasn't fully there, either."

Sasuke's features deadpanned as he felt his stomach drop. "What?"

Gaara clenched his fists so tightly that they started to tremble. He needed to lash out, he needed to hit something. But as the urge came to him, so did Sakura's soft voice, telling him to calm down and speak civilly, like an adult who wanted to be taken seriously. "You didn't notice that she was uncomfortable, did you?" At Sasuke's silence, Gaara's eyes narrowed even further. "You didn't notice how even though she was reacting to your touches, her eyes were empty, emotionless – that her mind had detached itself."

"Stop it." Naruto spat. "I don't want to hear this shit!"

The redhead turned his glare on Naruto, ignoring Sarutobi as he told them all to calm down. "Then leave," he retorted before looking back at a shocked Sasuke, "because I'm not done with Uchiha. Unlike others, I don't care about your last name. I'll still put you in your place if you dare to lay another hand on Sakura."

"And if she wants me to?" Sasuke suddenly snapped, not liking how he was being spoken to.

Gaara simply shrugged. "I will stand by her no matter what decision she makes. But until Sakura is better, until she gets the help she needs and until she truly knows what or who she wants, don't even think about touching her, Uchiha. Even though she won't admit it, Sakura needs help, she needs closure. If you touch her now," Gaara features twisted with disgust as he looked down at Sasuke, "you will be no better than the men who abused her. Not only that night in the woods, but also when she disappeared from her home for two weeks." At their shocked expressions, Gaara snorted. "What? You thought that it would only be that one time to make her react that way to sex or intimacy? No. It was more than once." For a second, sadness flashed through his eyes, but it was gone before they could see it properly. "I learned that when we had been close to reaching that level of intimacy. I noticed the look in her eyes and I stopped immediately because unlike _you_," Gaara suddenly spat, his anger growing, "I can restrain myself. I can see when others aren't–"

"Enough." Sasuke finally muttered, staring down at the ground. "I… I get it."

For a second, Gaara looked at Sasuke sympathetically, but the look quickly dissipated to impassiveness. "Good," he muttered in return before stepping forward so that he was right in Sasuke's face, "because it wasn't a threat, it was a promise. If I hear or find out that you have touched Sakura whilst she still needs help, you will have me to answer to. She doesn't need something like that, not from somebody she cares so much for."

Just like the others, Gaara stormed out of the room before he ended up hitting somebody or destroying something.

"Sasuke…" Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. "I know, Naruto."

"Do you?" When Sasuke looked up at Naruto tiredly, the latter continued. "Gaara wasn't saying that you raped her, Sasuke." Naruto spoke softly, knowing that at any moment, Sasuke could shut him out. "He was saying that now you know, you will be like them. Don't you see? He's warning you so that you_ won't_ be like them. He's trying to tell you that you can help him, help _her_."

The Uchiha nodded slowly before turning to Sarutobi. "I'm leaving for the rest of the day. I need to… to discuss some things with my brother."

"Take all the time you need, Sasuke." Sarutobi told the boy with a sigh. "Today has been hard on us all."

Sasuke simply nodded before walking out of the room, leaving Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Sarutobi.

It was then that Naruto finally broke down into heartbreaking sobs, wondering when and why everything had suddenly gone so horribly wrong.

And this time, it wasn't Hinata who comforted Naruto.

It was Ino.

And she was crying just as hard as she held onto Naruto tightly.

* * *

><p>It was an incredibly long drive for Sasuke, but he couldn't bring himself to go any faster than twenty miles per hour. Then, as he passed the woods opposite his and Sakura's houses, his speed dropped down to five, if that.<p>

Without saying a word, Sakura had gotten on with it. She hadn't told anybody and instead suffered in silence. She had been living opposite the woods she had been dragged into, that she had been_ raped _in!

Not being able to stomach thinking of such things any longer, he put his foot down on the accelerator.

It wasn't long until Sasuke slammed the front door to his home shut behind him before storming into the living room, running a shaking hand through his hair. Almost immediately, Itachi appeared in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow at his younger brother's appearance, wondering what could have possibly upset him so much. It wasn't until Sasuke looked up at his brother that Itachi realised how serious it must be. His eyes looked torn – as though he didn't even know what to feel or what to think.

"She was raped."

Sasuke's voice was thick as he spoke, as though he was forcing himself to keep the contents of his stomach down. To this, Itachi narrowed his eyes and stepped further into the room. "What are you talking about, Sasuke?"

"Sakura," Sasuke told his brother, "the night you broke up mine and Naruto's fight… when she left to go home… she had been dragged into the woods and raped."

Itachi felt his stomach twist sharply as Sasuke's words sunk in. Sakura had been raped? But… but she couldn't have been! She was _Sakura_. The girl was like a younger sister to him! Nothing bad was ever supposed to happen to her, not with him, Sasuke and Naruto around…

Only they hadn't been around for her then, when she needed them the most, because they had been too busy fighting with one another.

"Is that why she disappeared?" Itachi finally spoke after ten silent and tense minutes.

Sasuke shook his head. "That's not the only reason." Itachi frowned at his brother's words, silently demanding that he continue. "After she had been…" Sasuke swallowed hard. "After what had happened, Sakura left home for two weeks. She said that she couldn't remember much of that time, only that she did stuff with people she didn't even know." Itachi felt his stomach fill with dread at the look on his brother's face. "When Mebuki and Kazashi finally found her and brought her home, she tried to kill herself. Not only once, but several times. She had slit her wrists, tried to starve herself, tried to hang herself…" By now, tears had filled Sasuke's eyes, no matter how hard he tried to push them away. "She was taken to a mental hospital, Itachi! _Sakura is bipolar and suicidal!_"

Itachi lowered his gaze to the floor, knowing his brother wouldn't want him to see him acting so emotionally weak.

"All this time everyone spent_ hating _her!" Sasuke spat, his fists clenching tightly. "All this time people had been screwing with her, calling her horrible names like 'slut'!" With each passing second, Sasuke grew angrier and noticing this, Itachi's head snapped up to look at him. "All this time she had been suffering and in pain and _we_ _did_ _nothing_!"

"You didn't know, Sasuke." Itachi spoke low and serious. "Nobody knew."

He shook his head furiously as he all but screamed, "_She should have told us_!"

Finally losing his temper, Itachi snapped, "You can't expect her to tell you something like that!"

Sasuke's anger seemed to evaporate as he stared at his brother in shock. It had been years since Itachi seemed so angry with him. Sure, he raised his voice every now and again, but he had never screamed at him. He had never looked at him with _those_ eyes. Even back when Sasuke had attacked a teacher, Itachi had remained calm. "Why can't I?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke seriously, his eyes narrowing. "You were not exclusive, Sasuke. Your relationship with Sakura was only physical. You never told her you loved her or cared about her, so why would she think that she can discuss things such as this, with you?"

The younger Uchiha looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say. After a couple of minutes, his voice filled the room, but it was soft and broken. "Why? Why did she have to go to _him_ instead of me? I would have helped her!"

"What do you mean?"

He looked up to see Itachi watching him in confusion. "She told Sabaku Gaara everything, but she's known me longer! Hell, she didn't even tell Naruto or you."

"Then how did you find out?"

Hatred flashed through Sasuke's eyes. A deep, unadulterated hatred that almost sent shivers down Itachi's spine. He had never seen his younger brother look so… so _vengeful_ and demented before. "Uzumaki Karin overheard their entire conversation and recorded it, thinking they were going to do something else when they met up in some field. She wanted to embarrass Sakura in front of the whole school."

Pushing away his sudden anger, Itachi frowned, knowing that he should finally tell Sasuke. "I knew about one of her suicide attempts and about her being bipolar."

The anger and hatred in Sasuke's eyes grew as he glared at Itachi. So Sakura had been telling the truth? "What." It didn't even sound like a question, his tone was too flat.

Itachi's frown deepened. "When you brought her back here and I helped her bathe because she needed to warm up and was too tired to do so herself," he tried to ignore that look of hatred in Sasuke's eyes that seemed to double at his words, "I saw the scars, but she asked me not to say anything to anyone, especially not to you. Afterwards, when I spoke with Mebuki–san, she told me about Sakura being bipolar."

Like before, all emotion suddenly left Sasuke's face due to his shock. "What?"

"You are someone she loves, Sasuke, and you're someone that she admires. Sakura didn't want to appear weak in your eyes."

"But she should have told us!"

Sighing, Itachi tilted his head slightly and gave his brother a serious look. "Sakura didn't – and doesn't – want pity. She wanted her old friends to accept her while they didn't know the truth behind her disappearance. Now, she will think that they only want to be her friends again because they feel sorry for her, because they feel like they have to be."

"She said something like that in Sarutobi's office."

"That is because it is the truth, Sasuke." Itachi told his brother. "I should have told you about Sakura sooner, but I could not go against her wishes. So instead of telling you–"

Sasuke looked up, an understanding look on his face. "You did what you could to make her happy."

There was a small smile playing along Itachi's lips as he nodded once. Then, he grew serious once again. "Sasuke, do not interfere in her relationship with Gaara–kun."

"W–What?" he asked in disbelief, his eyes wide.

How could his older brother ask such a thing of him? Itachi knew how much he cared for Sakura! Hell, Sasuke was willing to bet anything that Itachi knew about his feelings for Sakura before _he_ even knew them. Whilst it was an annoying thought, Sasuke knew not to let it bother him. His brother had always been able to read him like an open book and had always been able to make the right choices for him.

There was a look of pity in Itachi's eyes, but it was gone before Sasuke could see it properly. "Sakura is happy with Gaara–kun. She can trust him, has strong feelings for him and I believe that he feels the same way for her." When Sasuke looked as though he was about to start shouting, Itachi quickly cut him off with a small glare. "I know it will be hard for you, Sasuke, but think of what will be best for Sakura. You had the chance to make her yours, to treat her well and tell her you love her, but you didn't take that chance. You cannot be angry with her for being with somebody who took that chance."

Sasuke averted his eyes and glared down at the ground, his fists trembling and clenching tightly at his sides. He knew Itachi was right – he had missed his chance with Sakura. There had been so many chances to tell her how he felt, to tell her that he wanted to be more than just… whatever the hell they were, but like Itachi just said, Sasuke had never taken any of those chances. There had always been something else that he put before her; there had always been something else that he thought was more important.

It wasn't until Sakura disappeared that Sasuke realised what a fool he had been. It wasn't until he no longer had her by his side to talk with, to laugh with, just to _be_ with, that Sasuke realised his mistakes. But why didn't he tell her any of that when she returned? Why didn't he let her in?

It was because he could not trust her.

Her leaving had caused him so much pain, more pain than Sasuke was even willing to admit. It had taken him months to finally get her out of his head, but even then, she was still there. Whether he was simply laying in bed, driving to school, at practice or matches, eating at his favourite restaurant – everything reminded Sasuke of her, because at one point, they had made memories in or at those places. It became so much harder when she returned, too.

Their first time together had been on his bed. Their first kiss had been on the hood of his car when they had been simply relaxing in the sun. At practice and matches, she had always been there, shouting and screaming at the top of her lungs for him to win, to do his best. They had had their first date at his favourite restaurant. Well, it hadn't exactly been a date, but it had been just the two of them and he had had quite a good time with her.

There were so many memories and each of them caused Sasuke pain, knowing that he had missed his chance.

Before Itachi could say anything, Sasuke was out the door and running.

To where, he had no idea.

He just had to get away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – More drama!**

**You won't be seeing Sasuke for a couple of chapters, by the way. I'm planning on dumping him down a ditch. No, I'm joking. He's just leaving to sort through his thoughts. I've tried sneakily mentioning that there's something not right with Sasuke in this chapter and a few earlier ones, but if you can't notice it yet, then you'll just have to wait!**

**At the beginning, when Sasuke was all like "he _will _hear about this", he kind of reminded me of Draco Malfoy.**

**My brother has internet on his phone! It's not very good, but because it's an android or whatever, he can connect his internet to our laptops. It's better than nothing, right?! The only bad thing is that he's not always here. Ugh!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	33. This Time, I Will Be There!

**Chapter 3****3 ****– ****This Time, I Will Be There!**

The car journey was silent and in Sakura's opinion, it was awkward, too. She was in the backseat gazing out of the window whilst Tsunade was driving and Kakashi was in the passenger seat and also staring out of the window. Nobody had said much since Sakura had grabbed her things out of Kakashi's office, but that didn't come as too much of a surprise. After all, today had been just filled with surprises and it wasn't even noon yet!

Sitting back in her seat, Sakura sighed and looked up, silently asking whoever was listening what she had ever done to deserve something such as this. What had she ever done to Karin to have the girl do something like this to her? Sure, Karin had always been jealous of how close Sakura and Sasuke were, but was it really worth all of this?

"Sakura," Tsunade's voice was unusually soft as she spoke and for a moment, Sakura could only stare at the back of the blonde's seat before voicing her acknowledgement. Once she had, Tsunade sighed. "Why didn't you tell anybody about what happened?"

Her entire body tensed and it took everything in her not to start crying. Instead, her eyebrows knitted together as she lowered her head to glare at her legs and bit her lip harshly. It was a reasonable question, one that Sakura had no doubts she would be hearing many times, but it still made her chest constrict and made it difficult to breathe. "I did." came her hoarse reply before Sakura cleared her throat and spoke again. "I told Gaara."

"You could have told _me_." Tsunade shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road. "Or you could have told Kakashi. Either one of us could have helped you, Sakura. Gaara is no older than you; he wouldn't know how to deal with such a delicate situation."

Her eyes stayed glued to her legs, refusing to look up even when she felt Kakashi look back at her as well as Tsunade looking through the rear view mirror at her. "I couldn't." Sakura whispered, her fists clenching tightly against her thighs. "I–I couldn't. I _can't_."

And then, it was like she suddenly snapped.

Tears started pouring down her cheeks as Sakura's head snapped up, as it suddenly became even more difficult to breathe. It felt like something was weighing down on her chest, like somebody was sitting on her. Pressing a hand over her chest, her eyes widened. What was happening? Why couldn't she breathe? Why was her chest hurting? Was she having a heart attack? Oh God… what the hell was happening to her?

Despite Tsunade still driving, Sakura unbuckled her seatbelt and clawed at the door, trying to find a way out. She could barely hear Tsunade as she yelled at Sakura to stop or as Kakashi tried to calm her down. There was a dull ringing in her ears and the ragged, raspy breaths she took were blocking them out.

"L–Let me out." Sakura whispered desperately before screaming, "_Let me out_!"

As Tsunade swiftly pulled over, flipping off the angered drivers honking behind her, Kakashi got out of the car and quickly helped Sakura out, his hands holding onto her shoulders to keep her from falling to her knees. However, Sakura simply pushed him away before leaning over and throwing up. Her body was trembling and her stomach muscles clenched and unclenched until it became hard to stay standing, until the sounds of her whimpers mixed with the sounds of her vomiting. She was vaguely aware of somebody holding back her hair and rubbing her back soothingly, but Sakura couldn't look behind her to see who it was. By the size of the hand, though, she was guessing that it was Kakashi.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Sakura stopped and slowly straightened up. She accepted the tissue and bottle of water that was handed to her gratefully before closing her eyes and breathing deeply to calm her breathing and erratic heartbeat.

"Sakura." Kakashi called out as he guided her away from the vomit. Leaning her against the front of the car, he looked into her eyes carefully, wondering if she would try anything else. Just in case, Tsunade stood at her other side so Sakura couldn't run out into the road. "It's okay."

She shook her head, fresh tears starting to fall. "It's not okay!"

"Why?"

Looking up at Tsunade, Sakura tried to stop her tears, but it seemed impossible. "They all know now. I–I was…" her eyes squeezed shut as another sob shook her body. "_I was raped_!"

Tsunade couldn't help but pull the sobbing girl into her arms, lowering her eyes to the ground as she felt her heart ache for Sakura. As the blonde guided her back to the car, she sat in the back seat with her, allowing Kakashi to drive whilst she stayed with Sakura, comforting her the best way she could, in whatever way she could.

It was a long drive.

And this would only be the beginning.

* * *

><p>Thanks to certain contacts, it didn't take Itachi long to find a certain redhead's address. It also didn't take him very long to get there.<p>

There was a building anger inside of him, one that would very soon be hard to control if he didn't find a way to calm himself down. Right now the possibility of calming down and not doing something stupid was very slim. Itachi could feel his hands twitching, could feel the need to destroy something making him almost blinded by the urge. It felt like he was on fire.

Not only had his little brother disappeared to who knows where (although Itachi was certain that he'd find out sooner or later once he was done here), but his little sister, the girl he had silently vowed to watch over and protect, had been raped. As though that wasn't bad enough, some… some twisted, _evil bitch _had recorded an extremely private conversation and played it for the entire school to see.

It wasn't every day that Uchiha Itachi lost his temper, but he was close. _Oh he was dangerously close_. It felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, trying to keep his balance even though it was ridiculously obvious he was going to fall. He just hoped Karin didn't push him over that edge. It would be a shame to go against his pacifistic nature, to ruin his name and reputation because of somebody like her, somebody who wasn't even worth destroying everything his father had built.

Itachi knew that Sakura was no saint and that before she had left, she had done quite a few bad things that she was ashamed of, but that didn't mean she deserved any of this! Things had been going so well for her, she had started getting passed what had happened, or at least, Itachi had thought that she had been. Finding out that Sakura had been raped made him want to be sick and it didn't help his anger at all.

After a couple of minutes of sitting outside the house, Itachi got out of his car, walking up the path to her door and locking his car without breaking stride. Each step that brought him closer made him feel angrier, yet it made him feel so powerful all at the same time. It was a pretty scary feeling, if he was being completely honest.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who felt how dark and powerful his aura had suddenly become as he saw the curtains at the window next to the front door twitch, telling him that somebody was behind those curtains, watching him.

As much as Itachi wanted to kick the door down and drag her out by her hair, it would only cause a scene so he settled on knocking almost politely, although it was much too firm. In fact, it reminded him of the way police officer's knocked on people's doors, which wasn't all that surprising considering half of his family were policemen, including his father at one point before he decided to expand and start a business.

The door opened almost reluctantly and a few seconds later, a red haired girl was standing in the doorway, looking extremely pale and scared.

Good.

"Hello, Karin." Itachi invited himself into her home, ignoring her as she called after him, telling him he couldn't just walk into her house.

"What do you want?"

By now, he was standing in front of a fireplace, so looked over his shoulder at Karin, who was standing in the middle of the room, practically shaking even though she was trying to look strong and confident. It reminded him of how Sakura would sometimes act and the thought made him even angrier. Taking a deep, calming breath, Itachi turned fully to face her. "I think we both know why I am here."

If it was even possible, Karin grew even paler and took an unsure step back, making Itachi uncharacteristically snort.

"I'm not going to touch _you_." There was a hint of disgust in his voice, but also disbelief. Did Karin really think that he would lower himself to touch her?_ Her,_ of all people? There was another moment of silence as Karin simply stared at him with frightened eyes until Itachi found himself growing bored as well as annoyed. "Where is the tape, Karin?"

She bit her lip, looking down at the ground. Again, flashes of a much younger, innocent Sakura came to Itachi and he had to clench his fists to stop himself from strangling Karin. It seemed the sudden movement intimidated her, though, as Karin's head snapped up so that she was looking him in the eye, gulping as she did. "I–I can't let you have them!"

Them?

"_Them_?" Itachi repeated, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Karin made a face that could only be described as an 'oh shit' face and took another step back as though she could feel Itachi's murderous rage. She probably could. It wasn't all that hard to pick up on it, especially if it was true that Karin was obsessed with his brother. He and Sasuke were quite alike. Well, Sasuke tried to be like Itachi.

When she said nothing, Itachi took an intimidating step forward. "You can either hand over every tape you have that involves Sakura, or we can involve others who will not care about destroying your home to search for the tapes." Itachi's eyes narrowed even further. "And just so you know, they will not restrain themselves from harming you like I am doing so right now."

"Y–You can't hit me!"

"Do _not_ push me." he warned in a low and deadly voice. "If it involves my family, I will stop at nothing to protect them. You know this already." He had confronted her once before, back when she and her friends had been bullying Sakura.

Karin gulped once again as her trembling increased. She honestly felt like she was going to wet herself! Indeed she knew that Uchiha Itachi would stop at nothing to protect his precious people, but he really couldn't get away with attacking her, could he? Shit. How could she be so stupid? He owned the entire fucking Uchiha Company, which pretty much included the police force, too.

"Fine!" Karin yelled desperately as Itachi stepped towards her once again before sighing with relief when he stopped his advance.

"Show me where _all_ of the tapes are."

Despite her instincts telling her not to put her back to him, to keep her eyes on him, Karin told him to follow her, leading him through her home until they reached a locked room. It took her a couple of minutes to open it, since her hands were shaking so badly that it took several attempts to put the key in the lock, but when it did, she held her breath and just waited for Itachi to start screaming at her.

He never did.

With a frown on her features, she turned around, about to see if he had even followed her, but her movements stopped as well as her breathing as Karin found herself suddenly pinned against the wall, a hand squeezing her throat and holding her at least a foot off of the ground. Just who the hell was this guy? He wasn't even that muscular yet he was obviously, _surprisingly_, strong!

"What is this?" Itachi spat through clenched teeth, no longer able to control his rage.

This place… it was like… Itachi couldn't even find the words. Three of the four walls held floor to ceiling shelves, each shelf filled with tapes. Altogether there had to be at least two thousand of them. It made his stomach twist violently.

"Ch…" Karin gasped, both of her hands locked around Itachi's wrist, trying to make him let go.

Throwing Karin to the ground, Itachi looked at her murderously. "Speak."

The girl spluttered and gasped, clutching her throat and trying to breathe. "Ch–Cherry."

His eyes narrowed dangerously as Itachi turned around, scanning through the many, _many_ tapes until he found the ones labelled as 'Cherry'. There were at least twenty five of them, maybe even thirty. He was too angry to count them all right now. His fists started to tremble as he turned his head to the side, glaring at Karin in such a way that it made her freeze in her place, like she had suddenly been petrified or captured in some sort of hypnosis spell. "Who is 'Cherry'?"

Almost numbly, Karin stumbled up onto her feet, walking over to the shelves and grabbing the tapes he was asking about, moving back over to the tape player in the centre of the room once she had them.

Dread filled Itachi's entire being as he saw a screen lowering from the ceiling, as he watched Karin whilst she placed one of the tapes into the player, her hands shaking almost violently and making her movements jerky. Itachi wanted to slap her and it took everything in him not to.

And then, he saw something that made him almost throw up.

Sakura, scantily clad, barely even conscious, was being pinned down onto a bed, a man twice her size looming over her and ignoring Sakura as she whimpered, as she turned her head away from the man when he tried to kiss her.

Oh the urge to kill Karin right there and then was so strong, Itachi could _taste_ it.

He had to get out of there before he did something stupid.

Roughly pushing Karin out of the way, Itachi grabbed the tapes, making sure he got every tape with the label 'Cherry'. It seemed that was what they had called Sakura and if Itachi hadn't been so pissed, so _livid_, he would have scoffed at how unoriginal they were.

"Wait!" Karin yelped as Itachi stormed out of her house. "You can't take them! He'll kill me!"

Not even bothering with glancing back or answering, Itachi got into his car, tossing the tapes onto the seat next to him with disgust before driving back to his house.

* * *

><p>His eyes were beginning to ache, Itachi noticed vaguely as he pulled into a familiar driveway and he knew instantly that it was a stress headache. The tapes placed on the seat beside him seemed to be glaring up at him, doing whatever possible to gain his attention. It was ridiculous! They were only tapes. No. They were most definitely <em>not<em> only tapes. Itachi had only seen a part of the first tape – well, it might not have even been the first tape, but whatever – and his stomach was already doing twists, trying to bring up his breakfast.

Sighing, he shoved the tapes into a bag and swung it over his shoulder before getting out of his car. Yes. It was definitely a stress headache. Damn it! If he was so stressed, Itachi couldn't even begin to imagine how stressed Sakura or her parents were, especially the former.

Which was why he was here.

Even though he knew he shouldn't be there, Itachi had to see if Sakura was okay. She was his little sister and every time he closed his eyes or was somehow reminded of her, memories of their time together would flash through his mind. He would see her as a little girl, clinging to him and begging him to teach her how to play guitar. He would see her growing, maturing, calming down ever so slightly. He would see her dancing and singing in his living room with him, all smiles and so full of energy, so innocent.

Not that anybody deserved such a thing to happen to them, but Sakura definitely didn't deserve what had happened to her. It actually made his chest _ache_ just thinking of what she must have been through, though Itachi wasn't foolish like his younger brother to presume she had had to suffer alone. Despite not all of them knowing everything that had happened and despite not everybody being there, Sakura had surrounded herself with people she could truly trust and rely on to be there for her.

"Itachi." Mebuki greeted, opening the door when he had knocked politely. Her face was tearstained, eyes red–rimmed and puffy and there was a balled up tissue in her hands that she kept fidgeting with. For a moment, Itachi was too stunned to say anything because whilst it wasn't exactly the same, he could recall a time when Mebuki had previously looked like this. It had been around the time of his mother's death, when she had been grieving. "Sakura… She can't speak right now–"

"Mebuki–san," There was a firm, no–nonsense tone to Itachi's voice, one he only ever used in business meetings or to put people (mostly Sasuke, though sometimes Naruto, too) in their places, "what Sakura needs right now are her friends and family to be there to support her. Do not push me away like you pushed Sasuke away. You will only make her feel alone."

Her face scrunched up, fresh tears filling her eyes as she quickly nodded, trembling with her silent sobs as she stepped to the side, allowing Itachi entry. What he had said hadn't been entirely fair, Itachi knew this, but he wouldn't, _couldn't_, bring himself to regret it. His words were true. Sakura was going to need everybody to be able to get passed this and even then, she would never forget what had happened to her.

"She's in the living room." Mebuki told him hoarsely. "She won't talk or eat or even drink a glass water! I don't know whether it's shock o–or because of her illness–"

Itachi gave the woman a small smile. "I will speak with her, Mebuki–san. I will also get her to at least drink some water."

"I'll go and get a bottle of her favourite flavoured water now!" the blonde exclaimed before darting towards the kitchen, returning only seconds later with the water.

Noticing how desperate Mebuki was for him to try and get Sakura to speak, Itachi couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman. She was giving him a painfully forced smile, trying to force back her tears as she looked up at him hopefully. Itachi wished that Mebuki wouldn't put so much hope in him, since he wasn't sure whether or not he could even make a difference. As much as he disliked to admit it, Sakura may only want to speak with either his little brother (which he kind of doubted, considering Sasuke's reaction) or Gaara.

When he entered the living room, he noticed immediately how warm it was. It seemed Mebuki had started a fire. Then, a head of pink hair stole his attention and Itachi couldn't help how his eyes saddened at the sight of her. Just like Mebuki had said, it looked as though Sakura was in shock. She was staring blankly at the fire, not one flicker of emotion on her face or in her eyes. There were no tears. There was nothing. Just an emotionless mask.

Slowly, to not startle her, Itachi made his way around the sofa, placing the bottle of water on the coffee table and his bag at the side of the sofa before he sat down beside her. Perhaps it would be best for him to leave the tapes for another day, one where she was much more… herself. Today had been rough enough for her. She didn't need to watch herself being raped.

"You know, don't you?"

The pain in her voice made it almost unbearable to hear her, but Itachi took a deep breath and nodded once. "I do."

"I don't want pity."

At least she was talking now, Itachi thought, despite the fact she wouldn't turn to look at him. "You don't have my pity, Sakura." he told her quietly, honestly. "You have my respect. You truly are strong if you managed to keep such a secret to yourself without it tearing you apart." There was silence for a moment before Itachi spoke again. "I'm not telling you that it was smart to keep such a thing to yourself, but I understand your reasons." She only blinked in response. "However, you don't have to go through it alone anymore. You have your friends and family there for you now and you also have me."

Finally, after holding it in for so long because of being around her parents, Sakura broke down.

And just like Itachi promised, he was there for her, holding her as she cried.

* * *

><p>"You should have told me!" Naruto yelled at his parents the moment he barged his way into the house, slamming the door behind him with so much force that it made the walls shake.<p>

Instead of somebody shouting back at him, instead of his mother screaming at him to show some respect and stop slamming the door, he was met by silence. No… Naruto frowned as he heard the soft sound of sniffling before his eyes widened. It was his mother! Why was she crying?

He was running through the house within a second, following the sound of his mother's soft sobs and when he finally found her, Naruto paused at the scene before him. Kushina was sat at the table with her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking every couple of seconds as she tried to stay strong, as she tried to hold back her tears and sobs. His father was behind her, his hand on her shoulder with a strange look on his face. Naruto had never seen Minato look so lost before. It scared him. Whilst they were there, what surprised Naruto the most was that there were three others in the room, too. One of them, he had known his entire life, whereas the other two he very vaguely knew of.

"Why are you here?" Naruto demanded, glaring straight at Kakashi and Tsunade. "Where's Sakura–chan?"

Kushina's head snapped up within a second as they all finally realised that Naruto was home, despite his dramatic entrance. It seemed it had gone unnoticed (which he was secretly thankful for, since he didn't want to upset his mother any more than what she already was. Plus, she had a pretty hard punch!).

"Come now, Naruto," Jiraiya sighed, pushing away from the wall to stand beside Tsunade, who was staring blankly at the ground, "don't be so harsh. I know that your parents raised you better than that!"

But Naruto couldn't hear him. The look on Tsunade's face was freaking him out too much and the fact that there was an eerily similar look on Kakashi's (though his mask covered most of it) face didn't help. They both looked so lost and pained and… Naruto couldn't even find the words to describe the look. It was almost as though they were in shock or like they didn't know how to act.

"Baa–chan," Naruto called softly, hoping that the name would give him a reaction. It didn't. "Is Sakura–chan okay?"

"What the hell do you think?" Tsunade muttered, her eyes finally pulling away from the ground to look at Naruto. There was anger in her eyes, but there was also a look of helplessness, like she didn't even know what to do anymore. "No! Sakura is _not_ okay. The moment we finally got away from that damned school…" She shook her head, her features scrunching up for a second before they evened out.

Seeing the dread filling Naruto's features, Kakashi sighed. "We were driving when Sakura had a panic attack and almost jumped out of the car whilst we were on the highway." Naruto's eyes widened and as much as he tried to stop them, tears filled his eyes. "She's fine… physically, at least. After that, Sakura passed out, though she kept drifting in and out of consciousness the entire time due to either nightmares or memories." There was a moment of pause before Kakashi spoke again, his voice much quieter. "She's going to be placed on watch."

Naruto frowned as he glanced over at his father. "What does that mean?"

This time, it was Minato who spoke, giving his son a sympathetic look. "It means that if anybody – her parents, Tsunade, Kakashi, or even Itachi – thinks for a moment that there is a chance Sakura may try to harm herself, or take her own life, then she will be admitted once again to–"

"Sakura–chan doesn't belong in a crazy hospital!" Naruto practically roared, whirling around to face Tsunade. "You can't put her in there, baa–chan! She doesn't–"

"You know_ nothing_!" They were all stunned that Tsunade was in Naruto's face, screaming right back at him. "What the hell would a brat like you know, eh? You ignored her and pushed her away when she needed _you_ most!" She grabbed his shirt, bringing him to her height as she glared murderously at him. "You have _no idea_ what goes through Sakura's head!" For a second, her gaze faltered, but it once again straightened out. "And I really hope that, if Sakura _does_ show signs of wanting to take her life, that she _isn't _around you. Idiot!"

With that, she pushed him away from her like he had burned her before turning to face the window, giving everybody her back. They could tell by the way Tsunade was gripping her arms that she was just about holding back her emotions, could tell by how tense her shoulders were that she was extremely worried for Sakura.

Naruto was silent as he looked at everyone in the room before his gaze locked with his father's again, blue clashing with blue. "Please help her, dad." he whispered, his tears finally falling and showing them just how much he was hurting. "_Please_."

"I will." Minato nodded seriously. "But you have to understand, Naruto, that if Sakura does go to a psychiatric ward, it would be for the best." Seeing that his son was about to argue, Minato sighed. "Yes, I know that Sakura didn't enjoy her last stay – believe me, _I know – _but it is for her own safety."

Jiraiya nodded once in agreement with Minato. "She won't be able to harm herself there, Naruto. And not only that, but there will also be others who are suffering from the same illnesses, others who can truly understand what sort of pain she is going through."

"They'll never let you send her to a mental hospital." Naruto mumbled, looking over at Tsunade, who in response glanced over her shoulder at him, raising a fine, questioning eyebrow. "Sasuke and Gaara, but Gaara especially. You saw how protective he was of her today," he raised his arm as an example, showing them the bruises that were already forming from when Gaara had grabbed him earlier that day, "and if he finds out that Sakura_–_chan doesn't want to be there–"

The blonde shook her head and scoffed, turning back to look out of the window. "There's nothing he can do about it. Sakura is _my_ patient and if I believe that she needs to go back to the ward, then I will make sure that she goes there. But," she paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder again, giving Naruto a small smile, "just know that I will be there with her every waking moment!"

And it was then that Naruto realised Tsunade truly did care for Sakura, very much like his mother cared for her. Speaking of his mother, she had gone rather quiet. Naruto risked a glance over his shoulder, only to see that his mother was giving him the same smile as Tsunade, the same maternal smile that held a promise of a lifetime. "We'll all be there for her this time, Naruto."

"As for Gaara," Kakashi sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Tsunade–sama and I will be talking to him. Other than Itachi, who has already been informed, Gaara knows her best." They could all tell by the way his eyes were creasing that Kakashi was fighting back a smile. "The two of them have gotten very close over the past couple of months and from what I have seen, if Gaara sees this our way, then he will understand and help us."

Naruto frowned. "What about Sasuke?"

There was a moment of pause and during that pause, Kakashi's eyes darkened with anger and it took him a couple of seconds to control it. "What about him?" he asked rather coldly, surprising everyone except Tsunade, who seemed just as angry and tense. "Sasuke may have spoken to her, but that was only because I pushed him into it by asking their English teacher to pair them up. I thought that he would hear Sakura out and forgive her. I didn't think–" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "The way he has been treating Sakura has been affecting her mood greatly and if it wasn't for Itachi or Gaara, we could be having a very different discussion right now."

His eyes widened as he took a step back, not liking the sound of his words at all. What was he trying to say? Was Kakashi trying to say that if it hadn't been for the very few people who stayed by Sakura's side, she would have tried to kill herself again? Yes, the few times he had seen her around school, Sakura had looked utterly miserable, but there were times when she was all smiles and laughter, too! Then again, now that Naruto thought about it, whenever that had happened, either Kakashi or Gaara had always been by her side.

"Sasuke wouldn't–"

"Naruto," Kushina sighed, pulling herself to her feet and walking over to her son, "listen to them and think about it. Can you remember their relationship at all? I mean, before Sakura left, of course." She was met by silence as Naruto lowered his gaze to the floor. "Now, think about how they've been acting around each other recently and, if you can, think about their relationship _now_."

The blond shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek. "He'd never hurt Sakura–chan." he mumbled. "He's just… Sasuke doesn't know how to act around her. He tries to act tough but he was just as upset as I was when Sakura–chan disappeared. It was why I decided to forgive him. He was hurting, too."

Once again, Kushina sighed before glancing over to Jiraiya and nodding once. A second later, the white haired man was speaking. "Naruto, do you know where Sasuke is?" In an instant, his head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. "After he got home, Itachi found him in the living room and apparently, Sasuke was close to having a breakdown. Itachi said that he has never seen him so angry before! And do you want to know what he asked his brother?" Again, there was no verbal reply, but he could tell from the look in his godson's eyes that he wanted him to continue. "He wanted to know why Sakura chose to tell Gaara instead of him.

"Of course," Jiraiya continued after a minute of letting the news sink in, watching Naruto carefully as the blond seemed to grow angrier, "that wasn't the only reason why he was so upset. It seems Itachi has also noticed how much Gaara means to Sakura and how much she means to him, because he told Sasuke not to meddle in their relationship."

This time, Naruto couldn't help but voice his opinion. "What? Why the hell would he say that to him? Doesn't he know how much that bastard loves Sakura–chan? No wonder Sasuke's so pissed off! I would be, too."

"Shut up and let me finish!" Jiraiya snapped, narrowing his eyes at the blond who simply glared in response. "Sasuke wasn't handling the news of what happened to Sakura well and that seemed to be the final push. Well, that among other things." Such as Itachi telling his brother that he already knew of Sakura's illness.

Dread filled Naruto's entire body. "What are you trying to say, ero–sennin?"

Stopping the nearly automatic reply for Naruto not to call him that, Jiraiya sighed. "Sasuke has left home. He left around an hour after getting there and Itachi doesn't know where he is, yet."

What? Naruto's eyes were wide. "We need to find him!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" His mother warned. "Right now, Itachi is with Sakura. She's our main concern at the moment."

"How can you say that?" he demanded, shrugging out of Kushina's comforting gesture. "Sakura–chan has her parents and Gaara! What about Sasuke? He doesn't have any parents! And besides me and Sakura–chan, the only person Sasuke can stand to be around is his brother. He has no one without us! We can't just say that he isn't our concern. He's my best friend, _my brother_!"

They were all stunned into silence by Naruto's outburst and during that silence, the phone started ringing. Kushina was quick to answer the phone and if the sudden look of relief on her face meant anything, it was good news. Hanging up, she appeared by her son's side once again.

"You can stop being such a drama queen!" she told him before a small smile graced her lips. "That was Itachi. He's still with Sakura – who is doing better, by the way – and has just received a phone call from his cousin, Shisui. I'm sure you remember him?" Naruto nodded. Of course he remembered Shisui! The guy was awesome. "Sasuke is staying with Shisui for a couple of days, but you need to keep this quiet. He doesn't want anybody, Sakura included, to know where he is."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, but it was Tsunade who spoke. "Why?"

Kushina looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up. "I think it's guilt, you know."

"Gaara said something to Sasuke in the old man's office," Naruto told them, his eyes narrowed with worry, "it was after you and baa–chan left, Kakashi–sensei! He said to Sasuke that if he touches Sakura–chan again, he's going to beat the shit out of him." At their blank faces, Naruto continued awkwardly. "Gaara also said that when they were close to, you know," he avoided eye contact with his parents, but his mother especially as she narrowed her eyes, "having sex, he saw that Sakura–chan wasn't exactly _there_."

Tsunade frowned as she exchanged a look with both Kakashi and Minato. "What do you mean 'wasn't exactly there'? Do you mean mentally?"

Naruto shrugged, becoming more uncomfortable and awkward by the second. To say that he didn't like speaking of such things in front of his parents was an understatement, but when they were about Sakura? Man. There wasn't even a word for how awkward he felt right now! "I think he said that she automatically detaches her mind, or something. And," he flinched as he remembered the pained look in Sasuke's eyes, "I don't think Sasuke noticed that look because he got real quiet and broody. Well, more than usual."

Realisation flooded Kakashi's features and the weight of it almost knocked the breath out of him. "He believes he raped Sakura."

It wasn't a question, but Naruto nodded, feeling rather numb and perhaps a little sick, too. "I tried to tell him that Gaara was only warning him so that he wouldn't be like the guys who actually hurt her, but I don't think he listened to me."

"Guy_s_?" Tsunade repeated, her voice thick and strained. "As in, more than one?"

He nodded, giving Tsunade a strange look. Didn't she know? Wasn't Sakura supposed to have told both her and Kakashi everything? Just as he thought that, Naruto remembered their earlier words. Sakura had passed out, so she probably didn't tell them anything. Naruto swallowed hard. "Gaara and Sasuke were arguing about Sakura–chan when it was brought up. I can't remember exactly what was said, but I know for sure that Gaara said she was… she was raped more than once." Once again, Naruto swallowed hard and did his best to force back his tears. "He said that when she went missing from home for two weeks, bad things happened to her. Even he doesn't know what happened and Sakura–chan tells him everything."

"Sakura can't remember anything that happened during that time." Kakashi recalled slowly, like he was in deep thought. "She mentioned something about that time, about leaving home and doing things she regrets, but that she had been too inebriated to remember what happened."

"That has to be torture." Kushina whispered. "Not knowing what happened, I mean."

Not even replying to them, Tsunade quickly spun to look at Kakashi. "Hatake, come with me! We need to speak about what will be happening with Sakura. We may have to keep an even closer watch on her. Minato, it would help if you were there, too. Naruto, don't bother trying to get a hold of Sasuke for a couple of days. After what he learned today and what he believes, he's going to need time alone to think."

Naruto nodded once, silently promising that no matter what happened, this time, he would definitely be there for his friends.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - My neighbours gave me their password for their WiFi! I didn't even ask, either. They heard me talking with my mum in the garden, saying that I needed a lift down to the library so that I could do some 'research' on the computers there. Then, the woman from next door told me to wait a moment, wrote down the password and gave it to me. I honestly could have kissed her. She gave me some rules of course, like no downloading and streaming and shit, which is fair enough. She also told me that, because of her kids, it gets switched off at night and on school days, which is, again, fair enough. I was just so happy that I didn't have to go without internet! Bloody hell. I would have had to go to that scary 'outside' place my mum is always talking about.****  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	34. She's Family Now

**Chapter 3****4 ****– ****She's Family Now**

"Suicide watch." Gaara repeated flatly, suddenly wishing that his sister wasn't in the room. This conversation seemed far too private for her to be a part of, but then again, Sakura had already told Temari about being bipolar. Had she told his sister about being suicidal, too? When the two opposite him nodded, Gaara's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think Sakura will try to kill herself?"

Tsunade glanced down at the ground. Before going to Gaara's home, she, Kakashi and Minato had discussed what they would tell the redhead, talked about what was too much and what would be okay to mention. Now, however, her mind was blank. "Gaara," her voice was much softer than what she would have liked, "you didn't see Sakura back when she was admitted or her time at the hospital."

Looking between her brother and Tsunade, Temari narrowed her eyes and finally sat down beside Gaara, silently offering her support without actually touching him or saying anything. She had no idea how secretly appreciative and grateful he was for it. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Sakura tried to kill herself four times." Kakashi told them, watching Gaara's reaction carefully. If it hadn't been for the fact that he had been around him for a while now, Kakashi knew that he would have never picked up in the slight change of expression, the darkening of his eyes, the small frown and the clenching of his fists. His words were affecting him, _a lot_. "Also, she attacked many people from nurses, to orderlies, to other patients. More than once she had had to be restrained, sedated and placed into solitary confinement."

"That's torture!" Temari snarled at them both. "Even I know that Sakura hates being alone and I've only spoken to her a few times! Why the hell would you do such a thing to her?"

Honey brown eyes snapped to teal, narrowed and angry. "There was nothing else I could do! Don't you understand? Sakura was dangerous and couldn't be trusted around other patients or herself! She would purposely start fights with the most unstable ones, hoping that they would go too far and kill her! If you count the fights as suicide attempts, forget it only being four. It goes straight up to_ over twenty attempts_."

The outburst silenced Temari and even managed to knock the breath out of her. Risking a glance at her brother, she frowned, wanting nothing more than to know what Gaara was thinking. He was quiet, almost too quiet. It was like the calm before a storm and Temari hoped more than anything that this wasn't one of the signs for when he was about to snap. She didn't want Tsunade, who was a well–respected, powerful psychiatrist, to see her brother when he was unstable. What if she sent him to a mental hospital, too?

"This suicide watch," Temari mumbled, tearing her gaze from Gaara and over to Tsunade and Kakashi, "what exactly do you need us to do?"

Kakashi couldn't help but raise a brow. "You're willing to help?"

A small smile graced Temari's lips as she once again looked over to Gaara, who was now staring back at her. For a moment, to her, he looked like a scared, lost child. It broke her heart and before she could even stop herself, Temari took a risk in grabbing his hand, ignoring the fact that it was clenched as she covered it with her own and gave a gentle squeeze. It warmed her heart how he didn't pull away, how his hand slowly unclenched so she could hold it properly. "She's family now." she told them all quietly before looking back at Tsunade and Kakashi, giving them a more genuine, yet fierce smile, though it slipped away a second later. "And I will do _anything_ to protect my family, no matter the cost."

Tsunade sighed.

"Usually, when on suicide watch, patients will be admitted to a ward and placed in a room where there will be no weapons or anything else that can harm them. Sometimes, they're placed into a padded cell depending on how much of a risk they are to themselves. Sakura has been placed on suicide watch before, though, because of her age, she wasn't stripped entirely like some patients are." At Temari's wide eyes, Tsunade sighed. "Anything can be used to commit suicide, _believe me,_ I've seen just about everything." There was a small silence before she spoke again. "When Sakura was placed under suicide watch, she was restrained to a bed and was watched every second of every day." Gaara looked furious when he heard her words and Tsunade was quick to try and calm him. "Listen to me, Gaara, you haven't seen what Sakura is capable of. Each and every one of her attempts were close calls and if it hadn't been for orderlies making their rounds, she would not be alive right now. You have no idea how close Sakura came to death. She can hide things well, even from people who supposedly know her best.

"Have you ever seen how a cornered animal fights?" she suddenly questioned the two siblings, earning her a look of confusion before they both nodded, slowly and unsurely. "Think of how a cornered, terrified, let's say… _cat_… fights. They're ruthless, unforgiving and will do anything they possibly can, right?" Again, they nodded. "That is how Sakura fought when she was admitted and when she fought with other patients and orderlies during her stay. Not only then, but also during her attempts, too. Whenever somebody intervened to save her life, Sakura lashed out and did everything she could to kill herself. She even managed to send seven of them to the hospital. I don't even think Sakura knows of the damage she caused, not fully, anyway."

Sighing, Kakashi spoke up, not even giving them time to straighten out their shocked expressions. "This is why we want to help her differently, this time. Before we came here, Tsunade–sama, Minato–sensei and I came to an agreement that it may be best to try a different route, even if it's not really allowed. We're not supposed to be giving out this information, especially to you two who aren't related to Sakura, but given what we learned today and how the last watch affected her…" he once again sighed. "You could almost say that this is called a periodic suicide watch, but that means checking in from time to time. In this case, we have contacted all those Sakura is closest to, including her parents, Uchiha Itachi, Namikaze–Uzumaki Naruto and–"

Gaara was suddenly on his feet, practically trembling with his anger. "You told _Uzumaki_?" he demanded, glaring down at both Tsunade and Kakashi as they slowly stood up. Behind him, Temari also stood up, but made sure to stay back so that they weren't crowding him. "Why the hell would you tell _him_? He only changed his mind about forgiving Sakura when he heard about what happened to her! She doesn't deserve to be looked down upon like that. Naruto should have forgiven her because she was his friend, not because he pitied her!"

"Let me tell you something, Gaara." Kakashi spoke, trying his best not to anger him further, but his tone was still serious and left no room for arguments. "In his own way, since she returned, Naruto has been keeping tabs on Sakura. He might not even know that he's been doing it, but he has! On more than one occasion, I spotted him passing us and when Naruto thought nobody was looking, he would watch Sakura and whenever she smiled, he would also smile and nod to himself before walking away, like he was making sure that she was okay. If she wasn't happy, he would linger around us and wait until something made her smile. On her first day back at Konoha High, right after her fight with Ino, he approached me, told me her favourite foods and asked if Sakura was okay. Not only that, but Sarutobi–sama told me that in the past couple of months alone, Naruto has been in twenty–seven fights."

The redhead couldn't help but looked shocked. "Twenty–seven?"

"And _all_ of them were because he had heard people bad–mouthing Sakura. It's because of his reasoning that he wasn't kicked out of school. As you know, Sarutobi–sama cares for every student at Konoha High, but to him, Sakura is 'special', just like you said she is to the janitor. It's favouritism, we know that, but–"

"But it's Sakura." And she deserved to be looked after. Gaara had mumbled the sentence, looking down at his feet with a scowl before sighing. "If this really is going to help Sakura, then tell me how I can help. But just so you know, if this is some sort of trick and you betray her…"

He didn't even need to finish his sentence as even the legendary Tsunade felt a shiver run up her spine.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Karin had revealed to everyone what had happened to her. It had also been a week since Sakura had been to school. Sarutobi had told her to take a break, as had her parents, but Sakura knew that it was because they didn't want her to face school yet, didn't want her to have to deal with the gossip, the stares and the questions so soon. In a way, she was grateful for that, because at the moment, Sakura wasn't sure she'd be able to stand it.<p>

A few people had come by to visit her, though on one or two occasions, visits had been cut short when either Gaara or Itachi arrived to see her. They both seemed to be taking turns with coming to see her. Hell, even though he was still going to school, Gaara always stayed over and kept her company, making sure that she didn't feel alone. At first her parents hadn't been sure about Gaara staying over, but for now they seemed to be letting them be.

Itachi would come over during his lunch break and after work for an hour or so and after he had left, normally around eight or nine, Gaara would come over. It was like they had some kind of schedule! Sakura smiled to herself as she tuned her guitar.

If this had been happening last year, she knew she would have lashed out by now. But then again, this time last year, she had been on a psychiatric ward under suicide watch and not only that, but also observation to see if she was mentally ill. It was a month or so later that Sakura had been diagnosed bipolar. That was around the time things got _really_ bad and they had brought Tsunade in. Or as Sakura had once jokingly told her, they had brought the 'big guns' in.

Sighing, Sakura moved her fingers over the strings, watching how the vibrated with each strum. Thinking about how she used to be made her feel exhausted and guilty.

Naruto had come to visit her two or three times, but their conversations were always a little awkward. Thankfully, though, he didn't seem to be giving up on her this time. No, despite how Sakura had been wary of him coming over, of him barging into her home and charging up the stairs like some sort of madman on a mission just to make sure she was okay, she was glad that he was here. If Naruto was willing to give her the chance to explain everything in her own time and forgive her for causing him so much pain, then she was more than willing to forgive him for being so cold to her these past several months. After all, he wouldn't have been that way if she hadn't hurt him in the first place.

Ino had come over once, but that conversation was much more awkward than her conversations with Naruto. Well, at first it had been. After about twenty minutes of uncomfortable small talk, Sakura had gone on instinct and asked Ino about Sai. Let's just say that Ino didn't leave until three hours later and that was only because Itachi showed up.

Oh, Hinata came over, too! And so did Sai, Temari, Shikamaru and Choji.

The only person who didn't come to visit her was Sasuke. It hurt. It hurt _a lot_. Was he mad at her? Did what he find out disgust him? Sure, Sakura had expected him to be a little mad at her for screaming at him the way she did in Sarutobi's office and not only for that, but for also not telling him about her and Gaara, but _really_? Was he really going to avoid her?

She never asked Itachi about where Sasuke was and he never told her anything about him, he didn't even bring his brother up. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of that.

The sound of her bedroom door opening had Sakura's head snapping up as she quickly glanced over her shoulder to see who it was. It wasn't Itachi because he had left just twenty minutes ago and it wasn't either of her parents since her father was at work and her mother was down in her office, working from home. Sakura had tried telling her that it wasn't necessary, that she could go to work and not worry so much, but Mebuki would have none of it.

When she saw who it was, Sakura's eyes widened almost dramatically and she dropped her guitar, hopping off of her bed and darting over to a bleeding Gaara. Well, when she says bleeding, what Sakura meant was that his lip was busted and there was a small cut near his eye. Brushing aside his hair, her eyes narrowed dangerously when she saw one going through the fine blond hairs of his right eyebrow, too. At first, Sakura had thought that Gaara had no eyebrows at all, but it turned out they were just incredibly light and practically invisible.

"What happened to your face?" she demanded, feeling rather angry that somebody had damaged such beauty. Not that she'd tell _him_ that. Grabbing his hand, Sakura huffed with annoyance as she dragged Gaara into her bathroom, sitting him on the edge of the bath that was in the centre of the bathroom as she went through her cabinets and pulled out a first aid kit. "Let me guess. You were fighting again, weren't you? Damn it, Gaara! I thought you were going to try–"

"Some people really test my patience." he muttered, his jaw clenching as he looked over Sakura's shoulder whilst she got to cleaning his wounds. "And they deserved everything they got from us."

She paused, her hand hovering just over the laceration near his eye as she frowned and lifted his head with her free hand. Gaara never avoided eye contact with her. He always liked being able to see her emotions. "Us?"

Finally, when their eyes connected, Sakura was stunned to see so much anger in his eyes, as he was usually so skilled in hiding his emotions. "Uzumaki was with me."

"You were with Naruto?" Sakura mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why?"

"I was just passing by him when I saw that he had some guy pinned up against the lockers." Gaara muttered, holding back a wince as Sakura continued with cleaning his face with an antiseptic wipe. "I had no intention of stopping, but something Kakashi once said made me. There were a group of guys there, some planning on jumping Naruto whilst he was busy with the main one, but I stopped them by getting involved." He didn't know which had been more amusing. The look on Naruto's face or the look on the others' when they realised who had gotten involved, who they were fighting against. "They all ran off soon enough." Of course, like the pathetic cowards that they were, they left their friends behind. "After that, Naruto and I were called to Sarutobi's office."

Sakura sighed, feeling tired and not able to stop herself from running a hand through his hair. She had a good enough idea as to why they were fighting, especially if the look in Gaara's eyes was anything to go by. "What's your punishment?"

Gaara closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her gentle hand in his hair. It helped him relax. "We were both suspended for three days." If it had been only Naruto, Gaara was certain he would have been let off with a couple of detentions, but the fact that he was involved (and had a history of being violent and getting into fights), it had to be a more severe punishment. Though Gaara honestly didn't think that being suspended was all that bad. At least he could spend more time with Sakura.

"So you and Naruto, huh?" Sakura suddenly smirked just as Gaara placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer.

"…He's not as bad as I once thought." But only because he had been defending her.

The reluctant tone in his voice made her chuckle as she rested her arms on his shoulders, moving as close to him as she could. "See? What did I tell you?" Sakura murmured softly. "My friends aren't that bad."

"Hn." he grunted just before capturing her lips in a chaste kiss.

As they parted, Sakura couldn't help but say, "Please don't start fights with them." Gaara looked up at her questioningly, still holding her, though his hold had loosened slightly so that she could take a step back and he could see her more clearly. "When people say things about me, just ignore them." she whispered, her eyes making sure to stay locked with his. "I'm used to it by now, Gaara. Trust me, there's not a name that I can think of that I haven't already been called."

"That's not the point, Sakura." He didn't mean for his voice to sound as harsh as it did, but right now, Gaara was too annoyed to really care. "You shouldn't have to be used to anything like that! Those lowlife bastards don't know you like I do." Standing up, he pulled her closer, his eyes narrowing on hers. "And I know that their words affect you." When it looked like she was about to argue, Gaara silenced her by pressing his lips to her forehead, surprising Sakura with the loving gesture. "If I hear somebody so much as mutter a bad word against you, I'll tear them to pieces."

Well, so much for a loving or romantic moment.

Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked softly. "Wow. You really know how to turn a girl on, don't you?"

The feeling of his hand lifting her by her chin a second before his lips were ghosting over hers made Sakura wet her lips in anticipation. "Oh, I think you know that I do."

At his cocky retort and smirk, she once again rolled her eyes, swatting his arm playfully before pulling out of his hold and all but skipping out of the bathroom, collapsing onto her bed only seconds later with Gaara right behind her. Instead of getting straight into her bed, though, he switched on her television and placed her guitar onto its stand. It was only when he grabbed the remote that he joined her on top of the covers, bringing her body closer to his own in a suddenly sleepy embrace.

He didn't know what the hell her bed was made of to make it so damn comfortable, but he liked it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - HAPPY EASTER! **

**So I got up this morning, expecting to simply be given my easter eggs like I have every year since I was about twelve, but instead, my mum and her fiancé had hidden them all around the house and told me that my sister had already found hers. It was actually so much better than just being given them! Took me about an hour as well because of where they were hiding them. They're so sneaky, especially since they know that I'd never go through their wardrobe! Ugh. I'll get them back for that one somehow.**

**I hope you're all having a good easter! Instead of getting an egg from me though, I thought I'd just give you another chapter.**

**Wow. That sounds pretty cheesy, doesn't it?**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	35. Give Him Time

**Chapter 35 – Give Him Time**

Sakura was determined to go back to school at the start of next week. Two weeks of no school was not going to get her anywhere. If anything, it would just make the rumours (were they really rumours anymore?) worse. Not only would she be returning to school on Monday, but so would Gaara and Naruto, who had both been suspended for fighting.

It was Friday today. Nine days ago her secret had been revealed, which also meant that it had been nine days since she had last seen or heard from Sasuke. Sakura was really beginning to worry about him. Itachi still never said much about him and neither did Naruto. Gaara, however, had told her that before he had been suspended, he hadn't seen Sasuke at school, either.

Where the hell was that damned Uchiha? Sakura didn't want to make a fuss or force Sasuke to come out of hiding but, _damn it_, it had been nine days now! Was Sasuke even planning on speaking to her? Didn't he want to hear her half of the story so she could fill in the gaps the tape left?

Gaara was at his own house right now, out of respect for her father's rules. On the Wednesday just been (the one where Gaara was suspended), Kazashi had returned from work earlier than usual and had wanted to speak with his daughter, only to find her curled up against Gaara on her bed. Now, after discovering what had happened to his only child, Kazashi had every reason to be protective of Sakura, but did he really have to act the way he did? He had acted as though he found them having sex! And if looks could kill, Gaara would have been dead a hundred times over. The fact that it didn't even affect him only made her father angrier.

After that, she and Gaara had been sat down in the living room by her parents, who then went on to give them a set of rules:

_1) When Gaara is over, the bedroom door must be left open._

_2) They were not to have sex, _ever.

(Though, because of how ridiculous that rule was, Mebuki had caught up to the two a little later on when Kazashi had disappeared for his shower, telling them that they could have sex, but she would rather it be when they had the house to themselves and were both certain that they were in love. It wasn't said, but it was obvious by the look in her eyes that Mebuki was asking, without words, for Gaara to wait until Sakura was better. Though she hadn't really needed to since he was still refusing to have sex with her until she could stop her mind from detaching)

_3) Gaara was not allowed to sleep over until Sakura was eighteen._

(Again, in Sakura's opinion, yet another stupid rule, but out of respect for her father, she didn't say a word)

_4) All the rules are the same for Sasuke, too._

_5) And any other man or boy who dared to step foot into her father's home (Even Itachi!)._

Sometimes, Sakura wished she could just smack some sense into her father. It was nice that he cared so much about her and everything, really it was, but the truth was, was that since Gaara had no longer been allowed to sleep over, she hadn't been able to sleep properly. It seemed pathetic even to her, but it was the truth. Having him holding her as she slept kept her nightmares away and on the odd chance that they came, waking up in Gaara's arms made her feel so much better, made her feel safer.

Sakura hadn't mentioned this to her parents of course. They would probably take her straight to Tsunade, where she would be placed on another watch. Damn she hated those things! Sakura frowned to herself. No. They wouldn't put her on suicide watch just because of nightmares. It would have to be–

_Damn._ She would probably be sent back to that room any day now, given everything that had happened. Sakura refused to go back there. As well as the obvious, that room also starred in her nightmares, reminding her of the humiliation she had felt, the helplessness. Who the hell said that being restrained and whatnot, helped? It had only made her feel more depressed! It had only reminded her of the things she most definitely didn't want to remember.

Checking the time, Sakura smiled to herself and grabbed her car keys. Oh. Did she forget to mention the fact that she hadn't even needed to retake her test? It had just been her mother's way of wanting to keep Sakura close.

She had promised to meet up with Hinata today after school. Well, Sakura had called the Hyuuga asking if she wanted to go for a coffee (despite the fact she couldn't even stand the stuff) and to talk. She would have asked Ino, but Sakura needed to talk about Sasuke and things were still shaky between them, so she had decided not to. Besides, Hinata was a great friend and Sakura wanted to talk to her.

It wasn't a long drive to the café Sakura loved, possibly twenty–five minutes at most and when she arrived, she spotted Hinata sitting at a table, holding a cup in her hands as she stared down at it. Her hair was slightly longer than when Sakura had first met her and instead of it being too short to even pull back, it was now an inch or two from being shoulder–length. Was she growing it out?

Secretly, Sakura envied Hinata. The girl was so naturally beautiful and also innocent, too. Being who she was and knowing the things she did, Sakura knew that Hinata had never been touched in the way she had. Hell, she was willing to bet the Hyuuga had never even been kissed by a boy! Sometimes, Sakura wished she could say the same.

Her first time, with Naruto, should never have happened. She didn't regret giving him her virginity because he had been so gentle and kind and loving, but she wished they could have waited. That way, they would have been more mature and would have known that nothing good would come out of it. They had only been fourteen or fifteen years old for goodness sake! It was hypocritical of her, but whenever Sakura thought of other fourteen/fifteen year olds having sex, it made her cringe. They were only children!

Not long after his fifteenth birthday, her relationship – if you could even call it that – with Sasuke began. She was a couple of months older than him and it had genuinely surprised her when she discovered he had still been a virgin. Why? It was because Sasuke was beautiful! Not only that, but he had girls throwing themselves at him all of the time. It sounded cheesy, but Sakura had felt honoured when Sasuke told her he wanted her, when he had given her his virginity. He never asked her about hers, or asked her who she had given hers to, but Sakura knew why. It was because he was Naruto's best friend. They were like brothers. Naruto told him everything.

She wasn't going to lie. Their first time together had been a little awkward. They had been in his room, just hanging out, when he suddenly started kissing her. It hadn't been their first kiss, but it had almost felt like it was. Despite his usual aura and whatnot, Sakura could tell that he had been nervous. So, she had taken control, surprising Sasuke when she flipped them over and pinned him down, all but ripping her top off as she sat on top of him. If the air around them hadn't been so intense, Sakura would have laughed at his expression. It hadn't taken long for them to lose their clothing, for Sasuke to take control once again, refusing to be dominated by a girl.

Their strange relationship had lasted almost a year before she left. After their first time together, without words, they had agreed on keeping it a secret, neither wanting to hurt Naruto but at the same time, they knew they wouldn't be able to keep their hands off of each other. And they had been right. Soon, they were having sex whenever they got the chance. Once, they had even skipped lessons and had sex at school! Well, they had been close to having sex when they were caught by a teacher. Thankfully, Sasuke had managed to talk the stunned man into not telling anyone, although had reluctantly accepted that the teacher couldn't keep what he had found from Sarutobi.

Oh the meeting with Sarutobi had been so embarrassing! The old man had lectured them, telling them that they were too young for that kind of relationship, too young to be having sex at all, let alone in a public place! After a while, however, he had sighed and told them that he couldn't stop them, but if they were ever caught in such a way again, in his school, then he would have no choice but to call in their parents. Or, in Sasuke's case, Itachi.

Shaking her head, Sakura locked her car and entered the café, returning the smile she received when Hinata looked up and spotted her. It shouldn't have surprised her really, since she _did_ have pink hair and wasn't all that hard to notice. Apparently, the way she held herself attracted attention – or so she had been told. Once, when Ino had been drunk, the blonde had let slip that sometimes, _sometimes_, even_ she_ was intimidated by Sakura, envious of the grace that often showed in her movements, how so many boys and men turned to watch her every move. Sakura had blame it on the alcohol, but she couldn't deny that Ino's words had made her feel so proud of herself. If Ino, one of the most beautiful and confident girls she had ever met, felt _intimidated_ by her, was _jealous _of _her_… Well… it was just crazy and hard to believe.

"Hello, Sakura–san." Hinata said politely, standing up and blushing ever so slightly when Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled her into a hug. "Oh… Um…"

"Hinata," Sakura chuckled, releasing the girl and sitting down, "you don't need to be so hesitant and polite. Just be yourself around me!"

A second too late, just as the words slipped from her mouth, Sakura realised that Hinata _was_ being herself around her. She was a Hyuuga, so had been raised to be formal and whatever else came along with that. Inwardly, Sakura winced, hoping the dark haired girl hadn't taken offence to her words, but when she looked up, she saw Hinata relaxing, saw her usually straight back slouching ever so slightly. Not only that, but she also sighed in what seemed like relief and a small smile graced her full lips, her pearl coloured eyes shining with happiness. It made Sakura's heart _hurt_. How strict and harsh were Hinata's parents if just relaxing her posture made her this happy?

Wanting rid of such thoughts, as soon as they ordered their food, Sakura spoke up. "I know it's not the best looking place, but it's nice here, you know? Have you been waiting long?"

"I think it's lovely." Hinata spoke softly, looking around the café with smiling eyes. "It's so relaxing and peaceful here, nothing like the formal places my father prefers. And no, I haven't been waiting long. I got here only five minutes before you did."

"That's good." Sakura replied, giving a small, slightly awkward smile as silence settled between them. "So… has anything been said about me at school?"

Hinata could tell by the look in Sakura's eyes that she knew things had been said, so she knew that there was no point in lying. Only, she wished that she didn't have to tell Sakura of the things that had been said. Some of them weren't nice things at all, whilst others were nothing but pity. It was mostly the guys at school that said bad things about her, though they had suddenly, for some reason, gone rather quiet with their hateful opinions. There were still a few, though. There were also some girls who, whilst felt sorry for Sakura and everything that had happened to her, still thought that, in some way, she had asked for it.

It was no secret that Sakura had been… o_n the wrong path_… before she had left. Many girls had and still _do,_ dislike her because of the way she had acted or still does act. Like Ino once had, they hated the way Sakura was so confident about herself, how she would walk the school hallways as though she owned them, how each and every single one of her movements practically poured waves of sensuality and gracefulness. Hinata didn't even think Sakura was aware of how seductive she could sometimes be! Once or twice, she had noticed that even Kakashi was stunned by how Sakura unknowingly acted.

"Um…" Hinata looked down at the mug in her hands, fidgeting ever so slightly as her eyebrows knitted together. She didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings, especially not Sakura's. "T–They… um…"

"It's okay, Hinata." she told the Hyuuga, also looking down at the mug in her hands. Unlike Hinata, however, Sakura didn't fidget. She hadn't been lying when she told everyone that Hinata's presence kept her calm, even when the girl was nervous and stuttering. "I know about some of the things they've been saying. I just wanted to know before I go back to school, you know? I guess I'm just curious… or a masochist." At her shocked, questioning look, Sakura gave a small smile, though it looked more like a twitch of her lips. "Gaara came over on Wednesday, saying that he and Naruto had been suspended for fighting."

The way Hinata's eyes widened as she leaned forward was almost startling. "Naruto–kun was fighting with Gaara–kun? B–But why?"

It suddenly clicked in Sakura's mind that Hinata must like either Naruto or Gaara. If it hadn't been for her reaction, she would have never known! Her body tensed. What if it was Gaara who Hinata liked? It wasn't that she was questioning Gaara's loyalty, but what if he found out and chose the Hyuuga heiress instead? Hinata was… she was beautiful and innocent and… and _untouched_. She was Sakura's exact opposite. Her chest tightened to the point where it felt like she was about to have a heart attack or something close to it because it was that painful. What if she lost Gaara? Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sakura silently willed for the pain to go away. Hinata might not even like Gaara! For all she knew, it could be Naruto. The thought made Sakura smile. He deserved somebody like Hinata, somebody who was so gentle and loving and compassionate.

"They weren't fighting each other." Sakura answered eventually and noticed how Hinata relaxed, though not completely, obviously because whoever it was who she liked was still fighting. "Naruto apparently heard some guys talking about me and didn't like it. He was about to be jumped by a group of guys – the same guys who were talking about me – when Gaara got involved and helped him out."

Hinata sat back in her chair, seeming lost in her own thoughts. "So that is why it stopped."

Sakura frowned softly, looking back up at Hinata since she had glanced down at her mug again. "What stopped?"

"The rumours." Hinata told her quietly, her pearl coloured eyes locking with Sakura's emerald ones. "Some… Some awful things were being said about you, Sakura–san, but for the past couple of days, it has been quiet, almost as though nobody dared to mention your name."

She couldn't stop the goofy smile that graced her lips. Gaara really was something. Sakura had seen how people avoided him, how some of the guys at school were wary of what they said around him, careful not to look him in the eye or anger him. It made her stomach feel warm. Gaara was a bad boy, he was dangerous.

And _God_ did it turned her on!

Putting her elbow on the table and turning her fisted hand upwards, Sakura rested her chin on it, her mind drifting off to think about Gaara. Despite how rough and violent he could be, he also had a sweet side. It was a side that only she or (sometimes) his siblings got to see and it made her heart skip a beat as her small smile grew.

"Sakura–san?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open, part of her shocked that they had even been closed in the first place. When had she shut her eyes? Better yet, when the hell had their food arrived? Sakura sighed, trying her best to calm her racing mind by taking a deep breath, whilst also giving Hinata an apologetic smile, making up an excuse as she did.

Their conversation started off light as they ate and Sakura found herself relaxing more, found herself opening up to Hinata about things that she never thought she would have. Like, for example, Sasuke's absence and how it was more than obvious that he wasn't handling the news well.

"This is why I didn't want to tell him." Sakura said softly, placing down her cutlery once she had finished her meal. Hinata was already finished, patiently waiting for her. Part of her wondered how the dark haired girl managed to eat so quickly when she took such small bites, when she ate so formally and slowly. "Deep down, no matter how much I wanted to tell him, I knew that Sasuke would react… Well, not exactly like _this_, but close."

"Maybe he just needs some time." There was a reassuring tone there, one that reminded Sakura of an older sister and for a moment, her mind wandered, wondering if Hinata had a younger sister before she shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate. "It was quite a shock even to me, Sakura–san. I cannot begin to imagine what Sasuke–kun must be going through."

She bit her lip, breathing in through her nose shakily. "…What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

Hinata's eyes snapped up to Sakura's the moment she heard the broken whisper, the insecure tone in her voice. She placed down her mug slowly, like she was thinking over her words. "I don't know Sasuke–kun the way you do," her voice was hesitant as she spoke, careful, "but I believe that, if he truly loves you, he will stand by your side." There was a moment of pause. "…Like Gaara–kun is standing by your side."

"I've really messed things up, haven't I?" Sakura chuckled humourlessly, placing both elbows onto the table so that she could cover her face with her hands. "Sasuke… I've always had feelings for him. They started out as a sort of fan–girl crush at first," she couldn't help but grimace as she remembered how annoying and pathetic she had been, "but we grew up together, you know? My feelings grew up as we did and developed into this… this _love_ that I just wanted to throw at him, that I wanted him to return."

"And what about your love for Gaara–kun?"

Once again, Sakura bit her lip, looking down at her hands when they pulled away from her face. "It's so different with him. With Gaara, it feels like I can start over again, that he's willing to stand by my side and help me rebuild my life, help me to become somebody better, stronger. He makes me feel so… _so_ _happy_ and at peace. I'm not going to lie and say that I love him more than Sasuke, because I honestly don't know who I love more, but the love I feel for Gaara, it's… different. I feel like I can be myself around him and he still won't give up on me." A soft smile graced her lips, the tenderness of it making Hinata also smile. "Gaara understands me. He makes me feel special, wanted… _loved_."

"It sounds like a wonderful feeling." Hinata replied gently, watching the warmth in Sakura's eyes grow.

"It is."

"I may be speaking out of place…" When Sakura urged her to continue, Hinata did. "But if I had a chance of feeling such a way with the boy I loved, I would hold onto him. You deserve happiness, Sakura–san." Tears filled Sakura's eyes at her words and in response, the dark haired girl placed her hand over hers, giving a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Don't give up on what you want most for what you want _now_."

Her words struck deep in Sakura and she couldn't help but smile shakily.

* * *

><p>This was it. Sakura was tired of having him avoid her and after meeting with Hinata yesterday, she decided to take a chance with visiting Sasuke. If he didn't answer the door, then she would simply use the key Itachi had had cut for her and invite herself in. If he ignored her, then she would wait until he spoke. Sakura refused to give up, not unless Sasuke told her to give up on him already, not unless he told her that he didn't want her anymore.<p>

Hinata was right. She deserved happiness. She didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to have him ignoring her, _avoiding her_, like she had done something wrong! If Sasuke wanted to act like a child, then fine. Two could play at that game.

"_Don't give up what you want most for what you want now."_

One day, Hyuuga Hinata was going to change the world. It may seem a little dramatic, it may seem like she was going over the top, but Hinata spoke the truth. She was honest and gave great advice. Maybe she could be the next Oprah? Sakura smiled as she let herself into Sasuke and Itachi's home, since nobody had bothered to answer. There were no cars in the driveway, but that meant little. Sometimes they parked them inside of the garage.

What Hinata had said was true. Sakura wanted happiness, she wanted to feel appreciated and loved. She didn't want a fuck buddy and if Sasuke couldn't understand that, then…

Then what? She'd break up with him? It'd be a bit difficult considering they weren't even together. They had never been together, simply sleeping with each other. Sakura bit her lip as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and made her way into the living room, making herself comfortable on the sofa. Itachi had told her that she could come by whenever she wanted to, that she could treat his home as hers. Within reason, of course.

It didn't seem like anybody was home, Sakura noticed. If there had been, either Sasuke or Itachi would have revealed themselves by now to see who was in their home, watching their television, drinking their water. Uchiha guys could be pretty territorial over little things such as those. It wasn't surprising, though. Sakura would be just the same if she heard somebody enter her house. Then again, with the things that had happened to her…

She quickly shook her head and turned the volume up on the television, trying anything she could to block out those certain thoughts.

When Mikoto, bless her, had been alive, the Uchiha home had seemed much more lively. It wasn't that she was energetic or hyperactive like Kushina, but there was a certain edge to the things she did. Mikoto could make anyone feel as though they were right at home. Sakura missed her quite a lot and couldn't even begin to imagine how much Itachi and Sasuke must miss her, seeing as they had loved her so much. The younger of the brothers had been a little shy whenever Mikoto showered him with affection in front of others, especially his friends, but they could all tell that he enjoyed having her attention. Her death had hit them both much harder than their father's.

Don't get her wrong, Fugaku had been a great man and it was obvious his sons both loved him (they were his children, after all), but sometimes he could be a little… too much. Like, for example, pushing Itachi into taking over the company when he didn't want to, or making Sasuke feel as though he had to be better than his brother, had to be smarter, more talented, stronger. Itachi was a genius and everything came naturally to him, whereas Sasuke had to work ridiculously hard. Growing up, Sasuke had been jealous of Itachi and at one point, they had fallen out (Sasuke had even claimed that he hated his brother, though they all knew it was a lie), but the deaths of their parents forced them to fix their relationship, forced Sasuke to realise that there was more to life than being the best at everything.

Sakura wasn't certain as to how long she had been sat there, just blankly staring at the television and lost in her thoughts, but by the time the front door opened and closed, it was dark and the only light that was lighting the room up was from the television.

"Sakura?"

It was Itachi. "I'm in here."

"What happened?" Itachi asked as he entered the living room, switching on the light and sitting beside her.

"No, no. Everything's fine. I just needed to… see something."

The look he gave her made it obvious that Itachi knew what she was talking about, especially when he spoke again. "Sasuke isn't here, Sakura. He's gone away for a couple of weeks to sort through his thoughts."

He had left his own home because of her? She bit her lip as tears filled her eyes, lowering her head so that her hair acted as a curtain, covering her face from view. "This is why I didn't want him to know." Sakura whispered as a single tear slipped down her cheek, splashing onto the fist that was slowly clenching against her thigh. "…I didn't want him… to… to look at me differently… or… be hurt by what h–he found out…"

Because her head was lowered and she couldn't see him, Sakura wasn't aware of just how closely Itachi was watching her. "It is not because you have hurt him, Sakura." he told her in his smooth, calming tone. "Sasuke left for a short while to clear his head so that he didn't say the wrong thing and hurt _you_. I'm sure that, by now, you have realised just how emotional my brother can be."

How could Itachi be so peaceful? It kind of made her a little jealous. "…I have."

It was no secret how emotional Sasuke could get. Well, to his family, Naruto and her, it wasn't anyway. There were many times when Sasuke would get so emotional that it almost seemed like he exploded. Most of the time, it was his anger, which made Sakura believe he had anger issues, though he would never admit to such a thing.

"Just give him some time, Sakura." Itachi told her with a smile, one she slowly returned.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Okay. So I've nearly finished writing They Never Knew (three chapters to go!) and I am dying to get all the chapters out so that you can read them all, but at the same time, I want to take my time with posting them. I think I'll either keep to updating or start updating at least three or four times a week.  
><strong>

**Hinata used to really annoy me in Naruto. After Pein destroyed Konoha, I started to like her more because she wasn't all like 'Naruto-kun this and Naruto-kun that'. Yes, I know that Sakura was just as annoying with Sasuke, but at least she tried to speak to him and didn't watch him from far away! Not to mention that Sakura knew he could take care of himself, whereas Hinata was always worrying about Naruto, wondering if he was hurt and whatnot. Saying that, though, I hope Naruto ends up with Hinata. And I hope that Sakura either ends up with Gaara, Sasuke or Kakashi. I would have said Itachi, but unless Kishimoto brings him back from the dead _again_, then it won't work. And as much as I love Itachi, I think his death had meaning and he shouldn't be brought back. Sometimes I wish though that instead of killing all Uchiha, they should have just killed Danzo. That fucking bastard. He's like those bitchy schoolgirls that are always causing drama!  
><strong>

**Oh and Karin should just disappear. Why the hell is she even still alive? She isn't important! Ugh. To be honest, I just can't see Gaara, Kakashi, Sasuke or Itachi being paired with anyone other than Sakura. Fanfiction has ruined me.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	36. Show Me That You Trust Me

**WARNING: Flashback of rape.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>**6 ****–**** Show Me That You Trust Me**

She had been back at school for a week now and whilst the gossip and people staring at her had been a little unbearable at first, Sakura had been somewhat able to ignore them. It was easier for her to do so with Kakashi and Gaara by her side. Sometimes, her other friends stuck close to her, but honestly, she felt more comfortable with either Kakashi or Gaara. They had never given up on her.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out as he looked over at her, "do you trust me?"

Sakura looked up from her work that was currently splayed out across his table. It was that time of day for her session with Kakashi, where she was supposed to tell him how she was feeling and how her day was going and whatnot, but since neither of them spoke all that much, he just told her to get on with work. She was certain that it was a way to try and get her to feel more comfortable around him, to try and get her to feel like she could trust him. In a way, it was working.

"What's under the mask?" Sakura retorted as she placed down her pen without breaking eye contact. When he didn't reply, she then continued. "If you remove your mask and show me your face in every session, I'll talk to you and tell you what happened. It's a… compromise of sorts. By removing your mask, that tells me that _you_ trust _me_, therefore, I will know that _I_ can trust _you_."

Kakashi sighed as he marked his page before placing his book onto the desk. "You're pretty good at manipulating people, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Many times." Sakura smirked before grinning. "So is that a yes?"

There was another sigh. "Why do you want to see my face so badly?"

"You're Hatake Kakashi!" she said like it was obvious as she rolled her eyes. Then, she stood up and sat herself down on the sofa. "Nobody has ever seen your face – not that I'm aware of. In my head, I'll be the first person to ever see you without your mask!" When he went to argue, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me that other people have seen it! Would you really want to take this away from me?"

At her puppy dog tone and eyes, Kakashi groaned and rubbed his face, "Fine, but only on one condition."

"Anything," she grinned.

"You have to be one hundred percent honest." At her wide eyes, Kakashi continued. "I don't show people my face for a reason, Sakura. This is me giving you all of my trust and I expect all of yours in return."

She bit her lip. Was seeing Hatake Kakashi's face worth delving into the memories she had pushed to the dark corners of her mind? Would it be worth having to remember, to think, to share every little detail she could remember? Would she be able to handle it? They had been pushed away for a reason, because it was too painful to think about that night. But perhaps it would do her good to remember? Perhaps, by remembering, she could learn to get over it? Sure, it wouldn't be easy and it will always be there, but maybe she could learn how to deal, how to cope with what had happened to her.

Slowly, unsurely, Sakura nodded. "Okay."

"Are you sure?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Just show me your face!"

With yet another sigh, Kakashi reached up to his face and after a couple of seconds of silently debating it, he finally lowered his mask until it was resting around his neck. When there was nothing but silence, Kakashi looked up to see Sakura simply staring at him. The sight made him roll his eyes, but just as he went to put his mask back into place, her voice stopped his movements.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Sakura raised a brow as she folded her arms over her chest. "We had a deal, Hatake. Besides, I don't know what the big deal is. Sure, you're handsome, but I think some of the girls around here were exaggerating by saying the reason you hide your face is because you have the face of a sex God." Really, there wasn't anything too special about his face. Yes, he had smooth skin that could make any male model cry, but the scar over his left eye prevented him from looking girly. With the way his hair outlined his face, it gave him a rough edge, maybe even a little badass. There was another scar down near his chin, but it wasn't as obvious as the scar on his eye. His nose was straight and looked pretty normal, as did his lips, all in all, nothing too special.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head almost nervously. "Ah, thanks Sakura." Then, the sheepish grin vanished as he looked at her seriously. "Now it's your turn."

Sighing, Sakura started her story.

* * *

><p><em>It was official. <em>

_Haruno Sakura hated the person, the monster, she had become._

_And she wasn't the only one either. Naruto didn't have to _say_ that he hated her because she could see it in his eyes. It wasn't that he hated _her,_ he just hated the person she had become. Sasuke apparently didn't mind too much, but that was probably only because she fucked him… and not only a couple of times either. No, what she and Sasuke had… it was hard to explain. Sakura loved him, but she wasn't sure if he loved her. He had never told her that he does._

_Biting her lower lip, Sakura looked over her shoulder. She had only been walking for five minutes and already she was regretting storming off like she had. High heels were definitely not a pair of shoes you want to be walking a couple of miles in. Not only that, but it was freezing too! It didn't surprise her though, since it _was_ a week or so until Christmas. _

"_Damn it," Sakura rubbed her arms in a vain attempt to warm up, "I should have just stayed there with Sasuke."_

_It was going to take her ages to get home! It didn't make her feel any better as she seemed to unconsciously stare at the woods opposite her__, either__. They had always been intimidating__ and__ even the adults weren't all that comfortable walking __by__ them or having their children play near them. They were just so… dark… and eerie. Apparently, at night, if you listened closely, you could hear a girl screaming as she was murdered. Sakura quickly shoved the thought out of her mind. Stupid Kiba with his stupid ghost stories and always trying to scare people! Folding her arms over her chest, Sakura picked up the pace as her eyes slid to and from the road before her and the woods across from her. It was too dark to see into them, though you never really could see much during the daytime either. What time was it when she left, around midnight? _

_What the hell even happened? One minute, the three of them were watching movies and then the next, Naruto was glaring at his phone a couple of moments before he _threw it_ at Sasuke! Obviously, something had upset him and obviously, it had been about her and Sasuke. But what could he have seen? Had somebody sent him a message about them? Who else knew? Ino had been acting strange lately… but she would have said something if she knew. No, Ino would have _attacked_ first and asked questions later!_

_If it hadn't been for Itachi getting involved when he did… Sakura couldn't even finish her thought. She actually thought the two were going to kill each other! Naruto had been literally trembling with his anger __–__ Sakura thought that that only happened in the movies or in books! Sasuke had been… well, he hadn't been emotionless, but he hadn't been expressing much either. It was obvious he had been angry, but he also looked a little sad__ and hurt,__ too. Or was she simply seeing things?_

_With a groan of annoyance, Sakura gripped her head. Her mind was going too fast for her to even think!_

_A twig snapping brought Sakura out of her investigative thoughts as she twirled around quickly. Her hand slowly lowered from its place on her head and clenched into a fist as she frowned. "Naruto__?__" Sakura called out, her confusion and unease obvious. "Sasuke?"_

_There was no answer. _

_Frown deepening, Sakura turned back around and once again picked up the pace. When she had been facing Sasuke's house, she had seen that she was still pretty close, which meant she wasn't walking all that fast. With her eyes darting from side to side, keeping an eye on her surroundings, Sakura all but jogged forward, once again reprimanding herself for her choice of footwear. But then again, she hadn't expected to be walking in them, had she? No, Sasuke had given her a lift since he had already been at her place. It wasn't even like she could call for someone to pick her up either __–__ she had left her phone back at Sasuke's! Besides, Sakura wasn't even sure anybody would pick her up, not with her being quite close to home. She also knew that her parents would be in bed and they wouldn't exactly approve of her waking them up.__ They would–_

_Suddenly, something clamped over her mouth the same second an arm wrapped around her waist, making Sakura's eyes widen with fear and shock as she thrashed against the hold, but she couldn't break it. Even as she kicked her legs forward and backwards, slammed her head backwards, clawed at the hand on her mouth, nothing worked._

_The sight of the woods coming closer had Sakura in a fit of hysteria as she tried to scream, but the hand pressed even tighter against her mouth. Her entire body shook with fear and adrenaline when they finally reached the woods and she was dragged far enough into them that she couldn't see the road anymore. It was almost too dark to see anything. Then, the person holding her came to an abrupt stop before she was thrown roughly to the ground._

"_Get up!"_

_With a quick, shaky nod, Sakura immediately pulled herself to her feet, tears falling from her eyes. "What do you want?"_

_As her eyes started to adjust to the dark, something shiny caught her eye and made her blood run cold. The figure before her was dressed in black and his face was hidden by a mask __–__ or was it a balaclava? Sakura couldn't tell the difference. __It was too dark._

"_Please," Sakura begged as her body increased in shakes, "what do you want from me?"_

"_It's funny you should ask that." His voice wasn't deep and scary like she thought it would be. It was actually quite smooth, but nowhere near as smooth or as deep as Itachi's. It was slightly higher than Sasuke's, but deeper than Naruto's. It wasn't a voice she recognised, but she would definitely recognise it if she ever heard it again._

_Sakura whimpered as he took a step towards her. "Please, if you let me go, I'll give you anything you want! I live just down the road and I can… I can give you money!"_

_There was a snort before the man answered. "I don't want your money."_

"_Then _what do you want_?" Sakura screamed hysterically, her voice shaking and cracking due to her emotions. _

"_I want _you_."_

_Once again, Sakura's blood ran cold as his words seemed to slap her in the face whilst also punch her in the stomach. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do. But as he took yet another step forward, Sakura knew that she had to do something. She couldn't let this man attack her! Sasuke's house wasn't too far away; surely she could make it there at a sprint? As he stepped forward again, Sakura took a step back, her eyes still wide._

_It seemed like everything moved in slow motion as he lunged forward at the same time as Sakura spun around and started to run. Her balance wavered slightly as one of her heels flew off, but she tried her best to ignore it as she continued moving forward. The man behind her was growling like a wild animal as she panted and cried out helplessly. In her opinion, it probably seemed like something you would see in a movie. Only this was real life and it was so much more terrifying._

_As she was again grabbed from behind, Sakura put everything she had into her voice as she screamed as loudly as possible, "_Sasuke_!"_

_The man's arms tightened around her waist until it was difficult to even breathe. He was chuckling darkly and chancing a pe__e__k at his features, Sakura could only make out a set of dark eyes. "Your boyfriend won't save you now."_

"_Let me go!" Sakura begged as she swung her fists in every direction, trying to land at least one decent hit. _

"_Not a chance." he spat before spinning them around and launching her to the ground. _

_Sakura's forehead bounced off of the cold, dead grass as she landed and the air was completely ripped out of her. Whilst trying to get her breath back__, coughing and wheezing as she breathed in dirt__, Sakura's legs__ shook and her feet__ clawed at the ground as she tried to pull herself to her knees and stand, but at the same moment, she was spun around so that she was facing the sky._

_A body lowered against her own, making Sakura cry out as her wrists were pinned above her with one hand. Fresh tears were falling from her eyes once more__ and mixing with the dirt on her face__ as she whimpered and once again tried to get the man to let her go. Sakura even went as far as to say she wouldn't call the police, but he didn't listen. He was __too __preoccupied with tugging her dress around her hips impatiently before pulling her underwear off. If she had been paying closer attention, she would have growled as he shoved her underwear into his pocket like it was a trophy of some sort. Instead, once again, Sakura screamed for help until she was sure that she was blue in the face, but no help came._

_The sound of his zipper undoing seemed deafeningly loud to Sakura as her eyes widened even further __–__ if that __was__ possible. Her parted legs once again tried to land a kick on the man, but he pinned them to the ground with his knees before punching her in the stomach and ordering her to stop. She cried, begged him to stop and tried to tell him that he didn't want to do this. She tried to tell him that he didn't want to rape a young girl._

_He laughed before plunging into her._

_Another scream tore from her throat as the pain seemed to momentarily blind her and the man above her grunted with pleasure as Sakura cried out in agony. She would say that it was like losing her virginity all over again __–__ pain wise __–__ but that would be going too far. No, her first time hurt nowhere near as much as this! It wasn't that the man was too big for her either, it was the fact that she didn't want this and that her body wasn't ready._

"_Stop it." Sakura whimpered __hoarsely __as she tried to break the hold on her wrists, but they only tightened. Her now freed legs slammed against the man's sides, but he only seemed to enjoy it. __She could feel everything. The mud sticking to her skin, the dead leaves crushing and crunching beneath her body along with the winter flowers and mixing with the dirt, the cold, _cold _ground… _him_. __"Stop it!"_

_He didn't listen to her. Instead, he lowered his body fully against hers and Sakura knew that if it wasn't for his balaclava, she would be able to feel his ragged breaths against her lips. Part of her was glad it was there, but she also pissed that it was there__,__ too. She wanted to know who was fucking her against her will, who was _raping_ her!_

_A punch to the face stunned her for a moment and when she was able to focus once again, Sakura was surprised to find the man further away from her face. His entire body was trembling and it didn't take a genius to know what was happening. Her thrashing increased tenfold as Sakura tried to get him off of her, to get him _out_ of her. It seemed he at least had the courtesy to pull out of her, but all thoughts of consideration vanished as he lifted her dress even higher and started to pump himself. His breathing was almost whiny as he finally let go all over her stomach before leaning back and panting heavily._

_Sakura was in too much pain to move from her place. She was just thankful that he had finally stopped. There was bile rising in her throat, but she tried to swallow it. However, every time she breathed in and her chest would expand, the movement of her stomach made his seed seem even more… _there_. Her breathing was uneven and wavering as she tried to calm herself and the tears that fell seemed never ending as Sakura stared up at the trees above her. They were so close together that she couldn't even see the sky. She felt trapped.  
><em>

_Her body was thrown across the small clearing and into a tree as the man kicked her in the side, but Sakura couldn't bring herself to let out anything more than a small__, pathetic__ yelp. Even as his foot slammed into her repeatedly, even as he smashed his fists into her body and face, she couldn't bring herself to care. She just wanted it to be over. _

"_If you survive this, don't even think about going to the police." he warned her as he finally stopped hitting her, crouching so that they were face to face. "I know where you live and where all your loved ones live, _Haruno Sakura."

* * *

><p>By the time she had finished her story, Sakura was shaking almost violently as she placed her head into her hands. It was the first time she had ever gone into detail about what had happened to her that night and it definitely hadn't been easy remembering all of the disgusting details.<p>

The feeling of an arm pulling her against a body should have frightened her, but Sakura knew that it was Kakashi. At first, he seemed slightly hesitant at holding her, either because he thought it may be inappropriate, or because he was remembering that she had literally attacked him for touching her previously. However, as Sakura turned and buried her face into his chest as sob after sob wracked her body, Kakashi's hold became more firm and comforting. His entire presence screamed safety, yelled protection and Sakura couldn't help but lean into his hold as he tightened it.

Her head was still in her hands as she pressed her face into his chest and her body was still shaking ten minutes after finishing her story. Also, Sakura's crying didn't lessen in the slightest. If anything, it became much more hysterical.

"Sakura," Kakashi spoke as calmly as possible, "try to calm down. It's okay."

It was too hard. How the hell was she supposed to calm down? Her stomach was twisting so badly that she thought she was going to throw up and it felt like the only thing holding her together were the arms wrapped around her. If he were to let her go, Sakura feared that she would fall apart completely. Finally, she let go of her head and gripped a tight hold of Kakashi's jacket as she tried to find something to keep her there, something else to keep her whole.

"Would you like me to call your mother?"

Sakura shook her head furiously, "N–No."

"Is there anyone at all you want me to call?"

She thought about it for a moment. Her parents were busy at work and even if they weren't, Sakura didn't want them to see her this way. Especially not when they had been talking about how well she had been doing. She also didn't want to bother Tsunade. Even though the woman was her therapist/psychiatrist, she was a proud woman and Sakura did not like crying in front of her or to have Tsunade see her looking so pathetic and weak. Who else was there? She could always ask for Itachi… he had told her that he would always be there for her, didn't he? He had told her that if she ever needed anything and if she ever needed someone to talk to, she could go to him. But what if he was too busy? What if he was in an important meeting? Sakura didn't want to disturb him.

"I w–want… I want Gaara." Sakura spoke before she could even stop herself.

Her reply seemed to shock Kakashi as he simply sat there, frozen in place. However after a couple of moments, Sakura felt him hum in what she presumed as his okay before he removed one arm from around her. As the arm holding her together disappeared, Sakura leaned closer into Kakashi, fearing that he would disappear if she didn't. She felt him pull something out of his pocket, but Sakura didn't need to look to know that it was his phone, because after a couple of seconds, he was through to reception and telling the receptionist to bring him Sabaku Gaara.

Sakura wasn't sure as to how long Kakashi was sat there holding her for. It was only when he gently pulled away that her sobs paused briefly until she saw a frowning Gaara sitting beside her. Not caring that he may not like it, Sakura pulled him against her in a tight hold. One of her hands was in his hair, whilst the other was around his shoulders as she buried her face in between his neck, her arm and his shoulder. Her breathing was coming in shuddering pants, but she managed to stop her previously uncontrollable sobs.

Once she was completely calm, Sakura opened her eyes and looked over Gaara's shoulder to see Kakashi had put his mask back on. She didn't exactly blame him for doing so. After all, their deal had been that he showed _her_ his face, not Gaara. However, even though Sakura somewhat was calm, she still refused to let go of Gaara. Whilst Kakashi's hold had made Sakura feel a little better, Gaara's hold comforted her and made her feel safe and _loved_.

It seemed as though Kakashi got the idea that they wanted to be alone because he left the room with some excuse about using the little boys' room, even though they weren't really supposed to be left in a room together alone. It wasn't just her and Gaara; it was everyone in the school and had been ever since two students (she would never admit to _anyone _that it had been her and Sasuke) were caught together in one of the support rooms.

"What happened, Sakura?"

She smiled at the softened tone. When they had only just met, he had been so cold and harsh, but now, he was much kinder to her. Sakura loved that she was the only girl he was this way with. Her eyes drifted closed as she pulled him even closer, if that was possible. "Kakashi and I were talking about what happened… and I got upset."

"Saying you got upset would be an understatement." he told her as his arms tightened their hold around her. "I was told that I had to be in here urgently."

"I guess I kind of worried Kakashi." Sakura chuckled softly before her chuckles turned into a small frown. "I don't know what happened… I was fine at first, but then I just… I broke down. I couldn't calm down either and I thought I was having a panic attack or something."

As Gaara sighed, his warm breath washed over Sakura's ear, neck and shoulder, making her shiver before pulling back slightly and moving her head until their foreheads were pressed together. Her eyes were still closed and now that her makeup had run, Gaara could see how tired she truly looked.

"Haven't you been sleeping?"

She shook her head, causing his to also shake. "The nightmares have come back."

"What nightmares?"

Sakura opened her eyes and leaned back again, but only slightly so that she was still being held by him. Her eyes screamed her fear as she looked into his and Gaara felt his stomach twist until it felt like he was going to throw up. "I keep dreaming that he's going to come back for me. He knew my name… where I lived…"

"Why didn't you tell the police?" Gaara demanded, his eyes flashing angrily.

"I couldn't!" Sakura argued, fresh tears filling her eyes. "He told me that he didn't recommend me going to the police if I survived. H_–_He said that he knows where I live and called me by my name! He also knew about Sasuke. I couldn't risk my parents' lives as well as Sasuke's. I couldn't act selfishly. I had to protect them!"

Gaara's anger dissipated into annoyance as he sighed. "You wouldn't have been acting selfishly, Sakura. What if that man is out there raping other girls? What if he attacked someone much younger than you? A child?"

Her eyes squeezed shut as Sakura lowered her head. "Don't you think I know that? The thought goes through my mind every day. I was able to block out the thoughts for the first two or three weeks – mostly because I was always too drunk or high to actually know what was going on. Then… my parents found me… and since then, I've been calling myself stupid in so many different languages." Though, considering she didn't know many languages, she settled for calling herself stupid with many different words. "But it's too late to do anything now." she told him, her eyes shining with tears of defeat and pain. "Any evidence that they may have had against him has been washed away. I burned the dress. My shoes and underwear… I don't actually remember what happened to them… but I presume any DNA on those will have been washed away by rain and snow.

"I think," Sakura spoke slowly as she reopened her eyes, "I _know _that if I heard his voice though, I'd know him."

"Are you sure?"

Sakura nodded. "It's something that I'll never forget."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So I'm re-watching shippuden and I'm on like episode 329. Kurama is badass! I think he's my favourite tailed beast.**

**Is it weird that I cried writing that flashback? I was just sat there writing it and then I'm crying, feeling _awful_ for putting Sakura through it! Can any of you guess who the guy is?  
><strong>

**Stomach ache. I have really bad stomach ache and the concert I mentioned before is in eight days. I feel like screaming!**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	37. I Need To Know

**WARNING: Flashbacks of rape.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>**7 ****– ****I Need To Know**

They – _she – _were going to try and talk her parents into allowing Gaara to stay over again. Sakura had spoken about it with Gaara since he had been quite concerned that she couldn't sleep due to her nightmares and he had agreed with her. Even though he hadn't said the words, Sakura could tell that Gaara hated sleeping alone, too. Sleeping next to each other made them feel protected, made them feel safe. They kept each other's nightmares away.

Sakura knew that she would be able to talk her mother into allowing it, but she wasn't so sure about her father. He wasn't even comfortable when _Itachi_ was around and he had known him since he was just a child! For this, Sakura would have to speak to them individually, starting with Mebuki. Her mother – to a certain point – understood her and if she worded what she needed to say a certain way, then she would most likely agree. Hopefully.

So how was she going to do this? Honestly, Sakura had no fucking idea. Back when she was younger, she would have just blurted it out without caring about either of their reactions. But now? Damn it. She was too worried about hurting their feelings or pissing them off. The old her would have laughed her ass off at how sentimental she had become. Actually, there was no 'would have' about it. Sometimes, when Sakura was alone, there was this little, yet extremely loud, voice in her mind. It was her 'inner' acting almost exactly like she used to.

She couldn't make them something to eat and sit down and talk with them – they would see right through it. Not only that, but Sakura was an awful cook. Like, seriously. One time she had almost burnt down Ino's house whilst making rice. She still wasn't too sure how that had happened.

Perhaps she _should_ just blurt it out. At least that way, it would be over and done with fairly quickly. Gaara would have to be there, too. He wanted to speak with them in person instead of through Sakura like they were in their first year of high school all over again. She hoped that he wouldn't be _too_ blunt when speaking with her father. It would be rather annoying if they started arguing. Sakura sighed, shaking her head to herself as she pulled into her driveway. No. She would just have to have faith in Gaara and hope for the best.

Spotting her mother's car, Sakura frowned before parking her own right beside it. Behind her, Gaara also parked his car, though made sure not to block the driveway. She had been hoping Mebuki would be at work until later that evening, so that she could spend some time alone with Gaara. After what had happened in Kakashi's office only a few hours ago, she had wanted more time to prepare herself. You would think that she was going to war! With her parents, she pretty much would be.

Gaara waited patiently outside of her car as Sakura gathered her things from the front seat and it genuinely surprised her when he opened the door, holding it open for her as she got out. When he noticed her look of shock, Gaara rolled his eyes at her, shutting the car door once she was out.

It seemed Mebuki had been expecting them as the front door was all but yanked open just Sakura had been about to grab the doorknob. "Sakura! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her mother frowned as she stepped to the side so that Sakura and Gaara could enter, exchanging a wary glance with the latter, who simply shook his head in response. Whilst he was pretty much emotionless on the outside, inside, Gaara was torn between warning Sakura of the suicide watch or keeping it a secret. He knew how important it was, but… it felt so wrong lying to her. No, it wasn't lying, but he may as well be. Sakura was so honest with him and keeping something like this from her made him feel sick to his stomach.

Still, if it was to keep her safe and stop her from harming herself or taking her own life, then he would do whatever he had to.

Nobody, not even herself, was going to harm Sakura.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

* * *

><p>They had decided to just speak to them both at the same time. It had been Sakura's idea, really, as she didn't want to say something that really hit home and end up forgetting it before she could tell it to the other parent. Well, it was more likely that Gaara would say something that really made things seem clearer to them, but whatever.<p>

So here they all were. Sakura had sat beside Gaara and opposite them sat her parents. Her mother was smiling politely whilst her father seemed suspicious, eyeing them both through narrowed eyes. It made her sigh with annoyance, knowing that something utterly absurd would be–

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

–coming much sooner than she had expected.

Sakura could practically _feel _Gaara's shock as he stared blankly at her father, his eyes a fraction wider than what they usually were and his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Also, though she wasn't entirely sure, Sakura could have sworn that she heard his breath leave him. She sighed once again, her eyes closing and eyebrow ticking as she waited for her mother's reaction.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kazashi!" Mebuki snapped, glaring at her husband with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "How can you even ask her that? Sakura is smart enough to use protection! Not to mention that Gaara–kun seems just as cautious. I just–" she growled, shaking her head. "I can't believe you asked her that, not after everything that has happened recently. For all you know, they might not have even been together that way!"

By now, Gaara was blushing, _blushing_! The sight of the pink tint along his cheeks made her heart skip a beat. Did he know how beautiful he was? Oh! The tops of his ears and back of his neck were pink, too! Inwardly squealing like a fan–girl, it took everything in Sakura not to show her giddiness, though it seemed Gaara noticed as he very pointedly avoided meeting her eyes.

"I know what boys are like at their age, Mebuki! And I know what–"

"Enough!" They were all shocked by Sakura's outburst, including herself, but she didn't pause for even a second as she continued. "Dad, thank you for caring and everything, but you _don't_ know Gaara. He's not like other boys! And, mom, you're right. We _haven't_ been together _that way_." she sighed, averting her eyes as she spoke again. "And, just so you both know, it was Gaara's idea for us to wait. He wants to make sure that we're_ both_ ready for something like that."

Her father looked torn between yelling at her and saying something to Gaara. She couldn't tell what because, obviously, she wasn't a man. Whatever he wanted to say, however, Gaara seemed to understand as he nodded once, to which, in response, Sakura and Mebuki shared exasperated looks, both getting annoyed with their silent conversation.

Then, her father looked to her, his eyes narrowing once again. "So what did you want to speak with us about?"

Sakura bit her lip nervously, giving them a small smile. "…Well, I was wondering… No, both Gaara and I were wondering if you could allow him to sleep over again."

Kazashi went so red in the face that she was tempted to reach out and check his pulse. "What?"

"Oh relax, Kazashi!" Mebuki groaned, rubbing her temples. "Gaara–kun has been very good to Sakura and it's obvious he will never do anything to hurt her!"

"Only to sleep!" Sakura blurted out before she could even stop herself. Though, when she spoke again, her voice was softer, almost like a mumble. "I… He keeps my nightmares away."

"Nightmares?" Mebuki repeated as she watched her daughter sadly. She had noticed that Sakura had been looking awfully tired lately, but Mebuki hadn't thought it was nightmares that had been keeping her awake! She had thought that Sakura stayed up half of the night watching television, since whenever she went by her room, it was always on. "Why didn't you say anything to us, Sakura? We could have spoken to Tsunade–sama about–"

She was on her feet in an instant, glaring down at them both. "That's why! Do you even know how you're looking at me? You're looking at me with so much pity it makes me sick. It make me feel _sick to my stomach_!" Gaara quickly stood up and grabbed her wrist, telling her to calm down, but Sakura shook her head at him. "And if you tell Tsunade–sama, after everything that has been happening lately, she might put me on suicide watch again! You don't know what that place was like. It was torture! They _tied me to a fucking bed_ and watched me _every _moment of _every day_! I wasn't allowed even a second of privacy, not even to bathe." Before Sakura even noticed, tears were pouring down her cheeks. "Don't… Don't tell her! Please. _Please_!"

Just as Sakura looked like she was about to fall to the ground, Gaara caught her, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed and sending a glare over her head directed to her parents. He knew that he shouldn't have trusted Tsunade! No, Sakura wouldn't be placed on suicide watch just because of her nightmares, but the fact that just the thought of having to go through it again terrified her made him so incredibly angry. And what was that about being watched as she bathed and being tied to a bed? Were they even allowed to do that? Wasn't it an invasion of her privacy?

At the sight of Mebuki lowering her head as her own tears started to fall, Gaara looked away and pulled Sakura closer.

"Don't… don't make me g–go back there!" Sakura begged between sobs, her body shaking in his arms.

"You're not going back there, Sakura." Gaara told her quietly, shooting her parents another glare when they looked as though they were about to argue. There wasn't a chance in hell that he would make her go through something like that again – not if it affected her this much. He would personally deal with Kakashi and Tsunade.

"Promise?"

He was silent for a moment before answering, lowering his eyes to the ground. "…I promise."

* * *

><p>There was some good news, but there was also bad news.<p>

The good news was that Gaara was allowed to stay over again, though only on weekends. It wasn't that bad, really, and definitely better than nothing! The bad news was that, after her unexpected breakdown, her parents had been hovering around her more than what they usually did.

Sakura wasn't even sure what the hell had happened. Why had she thought that having nightmares would get her placed under suicide watch again? It didn't surprise her how she had reacted to the thought of going back to that place, because it honestly had been hell. Sakura just wished that she hadn't broken down like that in front of Mebuki and Kazashi. Gaara… well, whilst breaking down in front of him was a little embarrassing, it didn't feel like he pitied her or judged her like the others did. It felt like he was always on her side.

Oh! There was more good news. This weekend, well, today, her parents would be going away for the night! It had been Mebuki's idea, something about her and Kazashi needing to sort out a couple of things. Sakura had no idea what that was about, but it didn't matter! She and Gaara were going to have the place to themselves for the night. Maybe she could cook him a meal? No… She was an awful cook. Takeout? Definitely. But what was his favourite food? Sakura knew that he preferred spicy foods, but what sort? How spicy?

Just as Sakura was about to call him, the doorbell rang, making her pause for a moment before she went downstairs to answer it. She knew that it wasn't Gaara because he never rang the doorbell, he preferred to knock for some reason. Itachi had his own key so–

Sakura sighed as she looked at the door. Her key was still in the lock and the bolt was on. So if it was Itachi, he wouldn't be able to use his key. Refraining from slapping her forehead with annoyance, she quickly peeped through the eye–hole, relaxing when she recognised who it was, but the moment Sakura unlocked the door and opened it for Itachi, she tensed at the look on his face. It was completely blank, but their was a serious glint in his eyes, one that silently told her to just shut up and listen to him. Of course, being as polite as he was, Itachi would never actually tell her to do that. At least, Sakura didn't think that he would. She hoped he wouldn't. How would she react to him telling her to shut up? She would probably be stunned into silence.

"Are your parents out?" She frowned at his question, the tension in her muscles increasing as she nodded. Itachi sighed. "You should sit down, Sakura. There is something you should know about."

"What is it?" Sakura asked and the only reason she moved into the living room after shutting the front door was because Itachi had already left to go in there. Damn. Whatever he had to tell her must be pretty big if he was acting all mysterious. Oh! Maybe it was a surprise? Sakura inwardly grinned. She loved surprises!

Itachi closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the excited gleam in her eyes. He had been debating for over three weeks now whether to tell her about the tapes or not. Last night, he had decided just as he had been about to fall asleep that he would tell her today. Sakura deserved to know the truth about what had happened to her. After speaking with Minato and Kushina when they had visited him to tell him about the suicide watch, they had also informed him that Sakura had no idea what had happened to her during the two weeks she had left home. All she was aware of was that she had taken drugs, drank a lot of alcohol and did things that she wasn't proud of.

It pained him to be the one to tell her the truth, to show her the evidence, but it had to be done. Maybe, by doing this, Sakura could get closure. Not knowing what happened was tearing her up on the inside. "Sit down, Sakura."

The excitement completely disappeared out of her at his tone, at the look in his eyes as he placed a bag onto her coffee table. "What's wrong, Itachi? Are you okay? Did something happen with Sasuke?"

"No. Sasuke is fine." he sighed once again whilst opening the bag. "There is something I must show you. Just… try to stay calm."

As he removed the tapes from his bag, stacking them up into a neat pile, Sakura's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, he spoke once again. "After Sasuke came home and told me about what had happened, I went to visit Karin." If Itachi noticed her tense, he didn't say anything about it. "Sakura, does the name 'Cherry' mean anything to you?"

She frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment. "…I can remember… The guy who… he…" Her frown deepened, seeming more like a scowl. "I don't know. Vaguely, I guess." He held up a tape, turning it around so that Sakura could see the label. "What does that say? 'Cherry – tape one'? What does that have to do with anything? I thought you said you went to visit Karin? Who's Cherry?"

"There are thirty tapes in total, thirty–one if you count the most recent tape that Karin has recorded – your confession to Gaara–kun."

"W–What?"

"_You _are Cherry, Sakura." Itachi told her, his chest clenching and stomach twisting uneasily at the horrified look in her eyes. "It seems Karin has known all along what happened to you during the two weeks you left home." Sakura was on her feet in an instant, taking the tape from him with shaking hands. "Before you watch those tapes, I want to warn you. I only watched a couple of seconds of the one Karin showed me and I did not like what I saw. I don't recommend you watch those tapes, Sakura."

Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the tape in her hand. "They're… sex tapes… aren't they?" His silence answered her question, making Sakura shut her eyes as she made a conscious effort not to destroy the tape in her hands. "I know that I… I did stuff… but I had no idea that they, that_ Karin_, had recorded it. I don't remember any of it! I don't remember her being there!"

Itachi shook his head, frowning down at her. "You didn't willingly do things with those people, Sakura." When her eyes remained closed and her tears continued to silently fall, he gently grabbed her chin, raising her head and waiting until she opened her eyes once again. "You don't have to watch what is on these tapes. I only brought them here so that I could tell you about them. I was going to take them straight to the police, to Shisui, but I had to tell you. You deserve to know what happened to you."

"I need to watch them." she whispered, her eyes never leaving the tape's label for a second. Cherry? Tch. How predictable and unoriginal! Like she had never heard _that_ before. "I have to know what happened."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well. Do you want me–"

Sakura shook her head, swallowing hard before looking up at him with a smile. "I'd rather you didn't see them. You're my older brother and I don't want you to see me in such a way."

"I understand." Itachi told her, though he paused for a moment when he turned to leave. "If they are too much for you to handle… I will be at home."

Nodding once, Sakura gave him another smile. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you want me to watch these with you?" Gaara asked uncertainly, eyeing the tapes before them with narrowed eyes.<p>

Sakura bit her lip as she also stared at the tapes although her gaze was more nervous and unsure rather than hateful. As soon as he had arrived, well, not straight–away, but after dinner, she had told him of the tapes and who Itachi had taken them from. At first, Gaara had been angry to the point Sakura had thought he was going to find Karin and brutally murder her. It had taken a lot to calm him calm. But… was it bad that a part of her wanted him to kill Karin? She shook her head. Not entirely, but despite everything Karin had done, Sakura knew that they couldn't kill her. It would be giving her the easy way out and it wasn't worth being sent to prison.

"I can't do this alone."

Hearing her softly spoken voice, Gaara immediately looked over to her and seeing that Sakura was shaking ever so slightly, he took a seat beside her. "Sakura, I'm only asking because this…" He glared down at the tapes before looking back at her. "This is finally going to help you remember what happened to you. You said so yourself that many different people used you during those two weeks and I know that this is going to be hard on you. You shouldn't be stressing yourself out so much."

She shook her head. "What will be harder is if I have to watch these things by myself. I already have a good enough idea what will be on them… Gaara, please, I know that this… this might change how you see me, but please don't make me do this alone. _Please_."

"Nothing will change the way I see you." he sighed, pressing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes. "I just don't want you to have to go through this. I understand that you feel as though you need to know what happened, but these tapes… what they're going to show you…"

"I know." Sakura pulled away and moved over to the old tape player she had found. "But I need to know, Gaara."

As the video was pushed into the player and the screen filled with writing, telling them that this was the first tape, Sakura slowly sat back beside Gaara, her eyes hard as she stared at the television, only for them to widen at the first face that appeared.

"That's the guy." she whispered. "The one I met in the streets."

* * *

><p>"<em>Say hello to the camera, Cherry."<em>

"_I already told you, Zaku." a pink haired girl grumbled as the camera focused on her. There was an angry scowl on her face, but the pink stains along her cheeks and the top of her chest made it obvious that she was drunk. Not only that, but her eyes were heavy, though that could have been because of the amount of make up she had on her eyes. "My name isn't 'Cherry'! For fuck sake, it's not very original, is it? You'd think that the person who decorated this_… room… _if you can even call it that, would be a little more creative."_

_Zaku's eyes narrowed but it was, surprisingly, not him who chided her. It was a higher pitched voice. "Oi! Don't speak to him in such a way, you slut."_

_Sakura's head snapped up as her eyes narrowed dangerously, fists clenching by her sides once she had unfolded her arms. "What did you just call me? Come over here from behind your stupid camera and say that, you four–eyed freak!"_

_There was a sound of anger before Zaku intervened. "Oi, Cherry, Karin, you better sort your acts out." Then, he sighed before turning to face her. "Are you ready?"_

"_Ready?" Sakura repeated, frowning with confusion. "Ready for what?"_

"_Karin!" Zaku growled with annoyance. "You didn't explain it to her?"_

"_Like hell I'm explaining anything to that whore!"_

_He simply shook his head, not bothering in arguing with Karin as he turned back to Sakura. "We're going to have a little fun." The sight of her body tensing made him smirk as Zaku grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him. "Think of this as_… _advertisement_. _When others see how perfect you are, they'll want you, too." Pushing her down on the bed, on the black satin sheets, he ignored her whimper of him to let her go as he roughly ripped away her underwear and climbed on top of her, unzipping his pants as he did. "Smile for the camera, Cherry."_

_Despite the smile on her face, despite her moaning loudly, it was obvious Sakura wasn't entirely there for her eyes held a distant look, though the camera didn't focus on her face for too long as it moved up and down her body, making sure to capture every single moment of Zaku taking her against her will._

_Once he was done, Zaku collapsed on top of her, seeming not to notice how Sakura was too still for it to be normal and it wasn't until Karin pointed it out that he got up, only to roll his eyes and chuckle. "See? She's just dazed."_

_There was a chuckle behind the camera, but it didn't sound as genuine as Zaku's before the camera was shut off._

* * *

><p>Sakura swallowed hard once, twice and then a third time as her eyes stayed glued to the screen that was now blank. Part of her wanted to scream and cry, whilst the other part of her felt too numb to do anything other than stare. She didn't even dare to look over at Gaara, who was just as silent, but Sakura could feel his eyes on her face. Strangely enough, it didn't feel like he was judging her. It didn't feel like he was pitying her, either. It felt like Gaara was torn between what he wanted to do, too.<p>

Numbly, Sakura got up and switched tapes to the second one, pushing it in and sitting down in front of the television, not even having the strength to move back to the sofa where Gaara still sat in shock, like he couldn't believe she was putting another one of the vile tapes on.

She had to know.

* * *

><p>"<em>So this is Cherry, eh?" a male voice asked as he entered the room, looking down at the girl who was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and seeming to be in a world of her own.<em>

_There was a sigh. "Yeah, this is her."_

"_Is she even alive_?"_ he asked with a frown, moving forward and slapping her cheek as though that would tell him if she was or not._

_From behind the camera, there was a snort._ "_Don't be an idiot, of course she is!__ Cherry is just a little_… _Well, she's had a little too much to drink. Zaku spoils her, you see._"

_The man chuckled as he stood up straight and shook his head. He wasn't anything impressive and seemed to have an easily forgettable face, though his muscular build was quite intimidating._

"_Right…_" t_he man chuckled__ again__ before__ dressing down and__ moving Sakura's body to the edge of the bed and as he did, Sakura groaned and frowned softly in confusion._

_She didn't even put up a fight as the large man removed her underwear and took her roughly__, without even preparing her for him, first__. The sound of flesh smacking against flesh, Sakura's whimpers of discomfort and the man's grunts filled the room and every so often, the camera would change angles or would zoom in on Sakura's face, which was contorted with pain. When the man was done, he looked down at the sight of Sakura with a sick smirk before dressing, throwing some money over her body and leaving. After that, the video cut off._

* * *

><p>"T–They sold… my body?" Sakura whispered in a mixture of shock, disgust and pain. "I'm a–"<p>

"Don't even dare to say it, Sakura." Gaara interrupted her with a low growl as he got up from the sofa to sit beside her. Taking her hand in his, Gaara lifted his other hand and forced her to look him in the eye. "You saw the exact same thing as I did: you were barely even conscious!"

She shook her head, her eyes still wide. "B–But they _sold _me."

Gaara closed his eyes, not knowing what to say because it was true. The bastards _had_ sold her body.

Sakura pulled out of his hold, changing over the tapes to number three.

* * *

><p>"<em>Oi, Cherry,"<em> _Zaku called out as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Will you hurry up in there? Your client is waiting for you."_

_S__he didn't answer and after a minute or so of waiting, Zaku growled before slamming into the door__, effectively breaking the lock__ and dragging her out. As he yanked her into the room and in front of the camera, Sakura stumbled and her eyes were glassy as she finally looked up at the camera.__ There were a few new bruises covering her body, but they weren't that noticeable due to the lighting._

"_You need to smile, Cherry." __h__e told her with a roll of his eyes._

_At his command, Sakura glared daggers at him before turning to the camera and giving a sultry smile. "How's this?"_

_The sound of a door closing captured her attention. "Perfect. How much is she again?"_

"_Four hundred for an hour." Zaku told him without missing a beat._

_The other man scoffed. "That much for just an hour? She better be a natural pinky."_

_Zaku smirked. "Believe me, she is."_

_With that, Zaku collected the money and left and once he had, the man __came into sight, already naked, and __immediately pushed Sakura down onto the bed and stripped her of her cloth__ing__, obviously wanting to use his hour with just sex. However, instead of taking her the way she had been expecting, the man quickly flipped her over so that she was on her stomach and entered a completely different part of her body._

_The scream that tore from Sakura's throat stunned Karin as the camera started shaking and she took a step back, gasping as she did so._

_After a couple of seconds though of Sakura crying with pain, Karin steadied herself and walked forward again, making sure to capture many different angles. The sight of Sakura's tears, of her red face twisted with obviously agonizing pain didn't seem to bother the redhead in the slightest as she zoomed in on her face before zooming in on the part where their bodies connected._

_When he was done, Sakura was trembling and didn't dare __to __move as she stayed still, laying on her stomach on the bed with the man's seed covering her back. This was the sight that welcomed Zaku and the new client joining him when he returned and when he saw the state she was in, his eyes were wide._

"_What the fuck happened to her?" he demanded immediately before walking over to Sakura and checking between her legs. "Is that fucking _blood_?" Zaku roared in anger before grabbing Sakura's arm and yanking her off of the bed__, ignoring her whimpers and cries of agony__. "Oi, Cherry, you better get a hold of yourself. Your next customer is already__–__"_

_The other man interrupted him. "She's messed up, man.__ Look at her! There's another man's seed on her back.__" __h__e told Zaku, not __at all caring__ about the glare that was suddenly turned on him. "She's beautiful and everything, but I'm not having her like that, not when she's in that state. __There's nothing arousing about taking a girl when she looks half dead. __Take care of your woman, Zaku.__ She won't last long if you don't.__"_

_And just like that, he left, not seeming to realise that Zaku was now very pissed off._

"_This is _your_ fault!" he yelled at Sakura before throwing her to the ground, ignoring her cries of pain as he __beat__ her._

* * *

><p>Gaara could only stare at the screen in horror and shock before he turned to Sakura, pulling her crying form against him as she sobbed. His body was shaking almost as badly as hers. What the hell had he just watched? The girl he… Sakura had been brutally anal–raped and beaten. What… Gaara couldn't even think as he tightened his hold around her, bringing her impossibly closer.<p>

After a couple of moments, she calmed herself down and continued with the other tapes, watching them blankly as she did. Sakura was aware of Gaara watching her as she watched them, how he didn't completely let go of her for even a moment. She was grateful for that. He was keeping her there and stopping her from falling apart. She needed that. She needed _him._

Just like Sakura had told him, both men and women used her, though the women were just as rough as the men, using different sorts of sex–toys on Sakura and forcing her to do stuff she did not want to do. After a while though, it became obvious that Sakura kept detaching her mind because the faraway look seemed to strengthen, if that made any sense. On each tape they had watched so far, Sakura had been wearing heavy make up, her hair was styled certain ways and she would always be wearing close to nothing – only her bra and underwear. They always looked tacky, too. In fact, the whole thing looked like a very bad porno.

When they were on the thirteenth tape, Sakura's empty mask cracked as she frowned, watching the screen intently and leaning forward. By now, they had moved back to the sofa because the wooden flooring was cold and hard.

"Oh my God." Sakura gasped as she quickly paused her television and leaned even further forward, ignoring Gaara for a moment as he watched her curiously before turning to him. "Gaara… I think I know him!"

His eyes widened. "Who is he?"

She shook her head, biting her lip and standing, rushing over to the house phone and dialling a number she knew by heart. It took several rings and the entire time Sakura couldn't keep still, her entire body practically trembling with adrenaline and behind her, Gaara got to his feet, standing close to her, but not too close so that he was crowding her. Finally, after the tenth ring, somebody answered.

"_This is Uchiha Itachi_."

"Itachi, it's Sakura." she mumbled, chewing on her thumbnail for a second before dropping her hand. "Can you come over? It's an emergency."

Hearing him getting up and the sounds of fabrics rustling, Sakura inwardly sighed, grateful that he was doing as she asked without questioning her. "_Has something happened?_"

Well, almost without questioning her, but then again, she shouldn't have expected him not to. It was way past midnight! "Just… can you come over as fast as possible?"

"_Of course_." Itachi replied without hesitation. "_I will be there in a couple of minutes_."

"Thanks."

She hung up, turning to Gaara, who seemed curious yet uncertain, no doubt because Itachi was Sasuke's brother. It wouldn't be because he was afraid of the older Uchiha, it would be because things could become _very_ uncomfortable.

It seemed like only seconds later that Itachi knocked on the door and when she let him in, Sakura could see that he was confused as to what she could need him for. She felt a little guilty for waking him up – he looked so exhausted. "I'm sorry for waking you," Sakura told him as she motioned for him to follow her into the living room, "but this is really important and I know that if I left it until tomorrow, I would either forget or my parents would find the tapes."

When they entered the living room, it was silent for a moment as Itachi and Gaara locked gazes before the former nodded once in greeting and Gaara did the same. Sakura felt like slapping a hand to her forehead and groaning. Men! Why couldn't they say hello like normal people instead of nodding? First her father and Gaara and now it was Itachi, too!

And then Itachi realised what she had just said as his head snapped to the side to look at her. "You have been watching the tapes?" He had been hoping she would change her mind.

"Yeah." Sakura mumbled, her eyes lowering to the ground for a second. "I had to know what happened to me. You have no idea what it feels like to have no recollection of what happened during those two weeks."

"Sometimes it is better not knowing." Itachi replied smoothly, trying to keep the slight shake out of his voice as he remembered watching just one of those tapes.

She shook her head. "Believe me, it's not. Anyway, I had Gaara watch them with me because I didn't want to watch them alone. I couldn't." When Itachi nodded once, she continued. "We were about halfway through them when I saw somebody I recognise."

His eyes widened. "You know him?"

Once again, Sakura bit her lip and walked towards the television, trying to ignore the uneasy look in Itachi's eyes as she pointed at the screen. She couldn't really blame him for not wanting to look because she and Gaara didn't want to, either. It didn't help that, on screen, she was being pinned onto a bed by a man who was smirking down at her. Thankfully, however, Sakura had paused it before it could show him doing anything to her.

"Actually, _you_'_re_ the one who knows him, Itachi."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Ew, ew, EW! I bought this split remedy, leave–in conditioner by TRESemmé and it absolutely reeks! You're supposed to put it on damp hair, so I did, and then later last night, I could smell stale milk. Oh my God. I nearly threw up! I've had to change my bedding and everything.**

**This chapter will be the last chapter with the rape flashbacks. I promise. It'll be discussed, but it won't be in great detail.**

**I know some of you will be like "why the hell did Itachi give her the tapes if he didn't want her to watch them?" and it's fair enough if you are. Itachi didn't want her to watch the tapes, he wanted to tell her about them so that he could have her permission to give them to the police. After all, what's on those tapes involves her and not all victims of rape step forward.**

**Anybody got any tips on how to repair bleach damaged hair? I've been deep conditioning it, using that smelly leave-in conditioner and I've stopped using heat on it altogether. But the concert is next week and I can't do anything with my hair! It's not as bad as it was, but it's gone quite... I don't even know. Parts of it is falling out. The only reason I bleached it was to get the blue out and even after bleaching it twice, it's still not completely out!**

**To make matters worse, my hair now smells like stale milk.**

**FUCK MY LIFE.**

**Ugh.**

**ANYWAYS, HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	38. I Could Never Hate You

**Chapter 3****8 ****– ****I Could Never Hate You**

Itachi stared at the screen intensely for a moment, reluctantly moving closer to get a better look of the man. There was an anger swelling within him as he saw what the man was doing to the girl he considered as his younger sister, but the desperation in her eyes, the one that was silently begging him to remember the man, was keeping his anger at bay. Although, he couldn't say the same for the guy next to him, Sabaku Gaara. He looked like he was just about in control of himself and it made Itachi unsure. He had heard all about Gaara's anger problems, but it seemed as though Sakura wasn't aware of how close the redhead looked to snapping.

"I remember seeing him." Sakura told them both, since she hadn't really filled Gaara in, wanting Itachi there first just in case she was wrong. After all, accusing the wrong person of rape could ruin their lives! "Or somebody who looks exactly like him. It was on New Year's Day." she turned to Gaara. "Remember when Temari gave me a lift to Uchiha headquarters? It was then." Sakura then turned so that she was facing both of them, sighing when she saw that Itachi was in deep thought but still listening. "He was with some guy, remember, Itachi? I can still remember how _petrified _they made me feel, like I couldn't even move or breathe. The feeling eased up when they left and I couldn't see them, but I was still shaking, remember?"

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he nodded once, suddenly remembering everything. "Orochimaru and Kabuto." It sounded more like he hissed their names as his fists clenched.

"Orochimaru?" Gaara suddenly demanded. "I've heard of him!"

He immediately had their full attention.

His upper lip curled with a mixture of anger, disgust and loathing. "My father used to do business with him and when he disappeared and Temari took over, Orochimaru tried to continue their business. Temari would never go into full detail about what happened that day, but she has always said that Orochimaru was a snake. A disgusting, slimy snake. I think she was, _is_, scared of him, too."

"Your father went missing?" Itachi questioned, his eyes narrowing. "I remember your sister taking over, but at the time, I did not know the reasons. When was he last seen?"

Gaara shrugged. "I don't know and I don't care about him enough to find out."

"This could be important." The Uchiha argued, though his tone was much too calm to sound like he was actually arguing. "Do you know why he left?"

It took a couple of moments and during those moments, Gaara stared at the ground, his frown deepening with each passing moment. Sakura wanted to comfort him, knowing that he would be reliving the awful things his father had put him through, but she knew that Gaara wouldn't appreciate it, at least not in front of Itachi. Then, after a minute or so, Gaara shook his head. "You would have to ask Temari or Kankuro."

Biting her lip, Sakura looked from Gaara to Itachi, the latter looking slightly agitated. "Do you think it's all linked somehow?"

There was a sigh before Itachi answered. "I'm not sure. But you're right about this tape." Pointing at the silver haired man on screen, Itachi had to refrain from actually scowling. "This is Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's righthand man. That day at headquarters when you came to visit me, they had been there wishing to do business, illegal business."

"And you refused not only because it's wrong, but also because of the Uchiha police force."

He shook his head at Gaara. "No. What Orochimaru wanted was disgusting and I refused to have any part in it. I informed my cousin, Shisui, who is head of the Uchiha police force, on what Orochimaru was planning to do, but they are still in the middle of investigation." Itachi made his way over to the two piles of tapes, one watched, one unwatched. "These tapes could be all the evidence they need. Not only does it show his righthand man and other employees, but it also shows a part of what Orochimaru wanted."

"A–Are you talking about a…" Sakura made a face, trying to find a way to word her sentence without sounding like an idiot. "Like a sex slave industry or something?"

"Almost." Itachi nodded. "But I can't explain any further. It's still an ongoing investigation and even I don't know everything that is happening or what he is planning."

Sakura suddenly paled. "H–He said 'It was a pleasure to see you, Sakura–san.' not 'to meet you', b–but 'to see you'. Does that mean that he's–"

She cut herself off, moving over to the tapes and all but ripping the current one out of the player, shoving the next in and playing it in fast forward until it was finished. Itachi and Gaara exchanged looks, neither wanting to stop her, since this was obviously something Sakura needed to know, but also neither wanting her to see any more. At least, not until she had had a full night of rest and was emotionally and mentally prepared to watch more.

"Stop!" Gaara suddenly ordered her, making Sakura jump, but she did as he asked and when she did, Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He goes to our school." Both Sakura and Itachi's eyes widened. "Before she left, he used to hang around with Karin and another guy. They were nearly always together."

"It's Suigetsu!" she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "He's always smirking at me, like he knows some big secret about me, but I thought he was just being an asshole. I never thought that…" Sakura shook her head, looking away from the tapes. "Just take them to Shisui, Itachi. I don't want to see any more and I'll answer any questions I can for him."

"I will tell him to call you before asking you to write a statement or go to the station for questioning." Itachi told her before gathering the tapes.

Sakura bit her lip once again. "I don't want Sasuke to see those tapes." Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she seemed to struggle with how to explain herself. "The way he reacted… _is _reacting to just… finding out what happened…"

"I won't let him see them, Sakura." Itachi assured her, knowing exactly what she was trying to say. His little brother was most definitely not prepared to see some of the things that was on the tapes. Hell, Itachi had had to switch it off when he was on the first one! Though, that was more because he realised just what was on the tapes rather than because he couldn't handle it. Knowing that Sakura had been raped was one thing, but actually _seeing_ it? No, Itachi planned on taking them straight to the Uchiha police station, even if it was almost two in the morning now. "Nobody other than Shisui will see them." When she nodded, Itachi gave her a serious look. "You should go and rest, Sakura. Gaara–kun, you should, too. The things that you have both seen…" he shook his head. "Try and get some rest. Shisui will no doubt come and visit you once he has seen them."

With that, he collected the tapes and left and the moment he did, Gaara took her hand, switching the lights off and locking the door before they made their way upstairs, both feeling completely exhausted.

* * *

><p>It was Monday but Shisui still hadn't contacted her or come to see her. She shouldn't be worried though, right? After all, there were about thirty tapes to go through and it had taken a few hours for her and Gaara to get to the thirteenth tape! Not only that, but Shisui was also a very busy man. Perhaps he hadn't gotten around to watching the tapes just yet?<p>

Sakura sighed, sitting back in her seat as she finished off her coursework. Sasuke still wasn't back and because of that, she had had to finish the English work by herself. What a jerk! Of course, Kakashi had given her a hand every so often, explaining things to her when Kurenai wasn't looking, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't the one who was going to be graded for the work, she and Sasuke were.

"You seem tired." he told her, his voice oddly softer than usual. "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Sakura mumbled and turned her head to the side to smile at him. Whether or not he could tell it was fake… she didn't know. "I was up most of the night watching my favourite television show, so I didn't get to sleep until like, four in the morning."

Kakashi shook his head, his eyes creasing with a smile. "What show could be so great that you sat up all night watching it?"

She smiled brightly. "Supernatural!"

"Supernatural?"

Nodding, Sakura couldn't help but let her smile grow. "It's about these two brothers, right, and they hunt demons and ghosts and vampires–"

"So anything that is supernatural." he interrupted her with a smirk.

"Yeah!" she turned back to her work, continuing with her writing. "I was about halfway through season four when I got hooked and couldn't turn it off. So, don't blame me for being up all night! Blame Dean Winchester. Oh! You should blame Castiel, too. He's an angel. Like, an actual angel! And he's hot, too."

He chuckled as Sakura continued telling him about her new favourite television show. It was always amusing when she found something new to obsess over, but Kakashi had noticed it was only when she was really down that it happened and needed something to take her mind off of whatever was upsetting her. Something had obviously happened and just the thought made him inwardly frown, though he continued to smile and nod at Sakura. The last time she had been upset, she had obsessed over another television show called 'One Tree Hill' and the time before that, it had been 'Gossip Girl'. At least this show sounded more interesting. Well, to him it did, anyway. Now he wouldn't have to listen to Sakura complaining about Brooke not ending up with Lucas, or about Serena acting like a whore.

But that was beside the point! What could have happened to upset Sakura this time? The last two times, it had been because of Sasuke. Had he been in contact with her? Or was it his absence that was getting to her? Kakashi shook his head. No, it wasn't that. Sure, it hurt her, but having Gaara with her seemed to make her happy. So, had something happened between them? There was only one way to find out.

"So how's it going with Gaara?"

Sakura frowned. She had just been about to tell him what 'shipping' meant when he interrupted her. Ugh! He was a bigger jerk than Sasuke. Then again, she liked talking about Gaara, too. Not in a bad way! Just… seeing him or talking to or about him made her happy. "Great!"

"Great?" Kakashi repeated and even though he didn't show it, he was now feeling stumped. What the hell could be making her feel down?

"What do you want me to say?" she asked before smirking. "If this is your way of asking if Gaara is a good kisser, then yes. Yes he is!"

Well.

He had not been expecting_ that_ to say the least.

And then it suddenly came to him. Sakura must be either entering or in the middle of one of her episodes. It would certainly explain why she was talking so quickly, her lack of sleep and why she seemed a little hyperactive. "Ah, no. That's not what I was asking." Kakashi chuckled, his eyes closing as he scratched the side of his face. Yes, Sakura was most likely about to either enter or was already having, one of her manic episodes. So, she wasn't 'down', she was 'up'. He would have to inform Tsunade during his lunch break because apparently, these were the episodes that made her most violent and dangerous when they weren't handled correctly. "I was just wondering how things were going with him. You seem happy."

"I am!" Sakura smiled softly before grinning. "Gaara makes me really happy."

* * *

><p>He ignored the whimper of pain as his hands shot out, grabbing a hold of another's collar before slamming them against the wall. Looking over his shoulder, Gaara noticed that nobody was watching or even on the corridor except for him and the guy who was now pinned up against the wall, staring down at him in shock.<p>

"G–Gaara?" he gasped out, trying to talk despite the fact there was an arm pressing against his throat. "What… What the hell?"

His eyes narrowed and his arm pressed down harder, making the other boy's eyes widen. Gaara barely even felt the pressure of his arm being grabbed desperately. "You're Suigetsu, right?" The white haired teen nodded quickly. When he did, Gaara couldn't stop himself from punching the guy in the gut. "Bastard."

With surprising speed, Suigetsu dropped one of his arms and shoved his hand into his pocket, making Gaara's eyes narrow further when he pulled out a knife.

"Put that pathetic piece of shit away," Gaara sneered and once again slammed Suigetsu against the wall, "or else I'll castrate you with it." At Suigetsu's paler than usual face, the redhead smirked before it slipped away to anger. "When somebody says no, _it fucking means no_."

Again, Suigetsu's eyes were wide. "What?"

"I know what you did to Sakura you fucking bastard." Gaara spat and suddenly, his fist was smashing into Suigetsu's gut again and he revelled in the pain he caused as the white haired teen tried to double over, but Gaara wouldn't let him and instead slammed him against the wall again. "I know what all of you did to her thanks to your bitch, Karin."

That seemed to get a reaction out of him, it seemed, as Suigetsu tried to break Gaara's hold, thrashing against it wildly. The moment Gaara punched him in the face with his free hand, however, he stopped, completely stunned as agony rippled across his face. Who would have thought Sabaku Gaara was so strong?

"Stay away from Sakura." Gaara spat through clenched teeth and at that moment, Suigetsu could have sworn that the redhead was going to murder him. He quickly shoved his knife back into his pocket so that Gaara couldn't use it. "If you try anything, I'll know. If you even look at her the wrong way, I'll know. And believe me, this is nothing compared to what I want to do to you, what I _will_ do to you if do anything to _her_."

And with that, well, with one final blow to the face that busted Suigetsu's lip, Gaara threw him to the ground and stormed off.

He needed to calm down before he did something much worse than hitting him a few times.

* * *

><p>Sakura frowned as she entered the reception. For some reason that Kakashi had refused to explain with others around, she had to go to Sarutobi's office. Apparently, it was because of something important. Her frown deepened as she impatiently drummed her fingers against her bicep, her arms folded over her chest. Sakura had never been one for patience.<p>

"You can go in, now."

Looking over her shoulder at the receptionist, Sakura smiled politely and nodded once before making her way over to the door. She paused at the last moment, wondering how late Kakashi was going to be this time. He had said something about needing to find a renegade student or something along those lines. Renegade? Sakura frowned to herself as she opened the door, her eyes looking at the ground in deep thought. Did that mean one of the students had left? No, maybe she had heard him wrong, she concluded, shutting the door behind her. After all, renegade meant to betray or desert–

"Sakura?"

Hey, she _knew_ that voice!

Head snapping up, Sakura couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. It was Itachi and Sasuke's cousin, Shisui! He looked quite hot in his police uniform, too. She inwardly groaned. She had known Shisui way too long to think of him as 'hot'. Although they weren't as close as her and the Uchiha brothers, they were still kind of close. In fact, they had all been on vacation together once or twice.

"Shisui!" she grinned up at him. Man, he had grown! The last time she had seen him, he hadn't been nearly as tall as he was now. He seemed to be around Itachi's height, maybe even taller! "I haven't seen you in years!"

Shisui smiled at her, but then grew serious. "I'm afraid I'm only here on business, Sakura."

It was then that she realised Sarutobi wasn't in the office. Wow. It was so strange not seeing him in his seat! Sakura had always thought that he was glued to the thing. Well, except for a few weeks ago when the whole Karin thing had blown up. That had been pretty bad–

What the hell was she thinking? Of course it had been bad! The bitch had posted a video that she had recorded of her and Gaara for everyone to see. She had recorded them thinking they were going to have sex in a field! Ugh. Yes, Sakura knew that some of the things she had done were disgusting and made her seem like a whore, but a field? Really?

"Sakura?"

Come _on_! Even if she had been willing to have sex in a field (Gaara was hot enough to seduce her, after all), Gaara would have never done it there. What was it that he had said that night? Something along the lines of wanting their first time together to be special. The memory made Sakura smile softly. No matter what, she was going to make sure that his first time was special. He deserved it, really, since he was always so nice to her, so patient and surprisingly caring, too.

She was really starting to give herself a headache. It was like her mind was going so much faster than the rest of her!

"Sakura!"

Looking up, Sakura smiled. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Shisui frowned, stepping forward and watching her carefully. "Yeah… I was saying that I'm here because of something Itachi brought to me. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" His frown deepened as he grabbed her hand, leading her over to the sofa and sitting down with her.

Silly Uchiha! They were always bossing her around, weren't they? First Sasuke, then Itachi and now Shisui. Hell, when Fugaku had been alive, he had bossed her around, too. Always making her feel pathetic. He had made his own son feel that way as well!

Sakura clenched her free hand into a fist. What the hell was going through her mind right now? Itachi had never bossed her around! He had always been so gentle and caring. As for Sasuke… Well, it was just better to say that he was Fugaku's son. And, whilst she wasn't disrespecting the dead, Fugaku had been a bit of a dick. But he had also been a good father when it really mattered, too.

"Yeah." Sakura nodded quickly, trying to sort her thoughts out. "Just… I just have a bit of headache, is all."

"I'm sorry." he looked down at their hands, giving hers a squeeze before letting go. "I would have come another time, but it is rather busy at headquarters right now and this is the only time I'm free. Itachi mentioned that you wouldn't want anybody else other than me for this case." There was a moment of silence as he sighed, looking back up at her. "I'm sure you know why I'm here, but just so that there is no confusion, I'm here about the… tapes… that Itachi brought to me on Saturday night. Well, ridiculously early on Sunday morning."

She winced, remembering how she had forced Gaara to watch thirteen of the tapes with her before waking Itachi up and telling him to come over because it was an emergency. And then she had made them both watch a few more tapes, too. Why had she done that again? Why couldn't it have waited until morning? Oh right! In case she forgot or her parents found them. Hm. Them seeing those tapes was the last thing she wanted! "Yeah, I know."

"Hiruzen–sama would be here right now, but he's looking for a certain student," his expression darkened and to be honest, it didn't suit him at all because like Itachi, he was always so caring and gentle with her, "Hozuki Suigetsu." To this, she tensed and seeing her tension, Shisui gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry, Sakura. I believe your… friend… Gaara–"

"Gaara?" she exclaimed, standing quickly and making her way over to the door. "What's wrong with Gaara? He isn't hurt, is he? Oh! I bet he's been fighting again, hasn't he? I keep telling him not to get into fights for my sake, but he keeps doing it anyway! _Cha_. I'd beat the shit out of him myself, but… I can't destroy a face that pretty, can I? I mean, have you _seen _him?"

Shisui's eyes widened as he was barely able to catch a single word of her speech. He was also just in time to stop Sakura from being hit in the face by the door as it opened, since she seemed to have missed the knock as she went to grab the handle, only to pause and smile at him just as it opened. Luckily for her, Shisui had always been pretty fast. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her backwards and away from it.

To say she was shocked would be an understatement! "Shisui, what are you doing? I need to go and find Gaara!"

Walking into the office, Kakashi sighed and shook his head at Shisui, silently telling him that neither he nor Sarutobi had been able to find Suigetsu. It was like he had literally vanished! They had questioned the last person who saw him, which had been Gaara, but after that, it seemed he had left the premises. Whatever Gaara had said to him had obviously freaked him out and considering the furious look that had flashed through the redhead's eyes, Kakashi had a good idea what – or who – it had been about.

"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Sakura frowned before glaring at him. "You were supposed to be here ages ago!"

"No I wasn't, Sakura." Kakashi replied slowly as he watched Shisui once again guide her towards the sofa.

"Oh?" she sat down, looking down at her legs as her eyebrows furrowed. "_Oh_. So… I suppose we should get on with this, then."

Shisui nodded once, though he looked a little hesitant. "The sooner, the better, but I understand if you need a day or so to–"

"No, today is fine. I just want to get this over with."

"Okay." he nodded again as he and Kakashi both sat down. Pulling out a recorder, Shisui gave Sakura a small smile. "Start from the beginning and take your time."

After he pressed record, she told them everything.

* * *

><p>Damn she felt drained as she smiled and said goodbye to Shisui, who was still sat in Sarutobi's office, going through his notes.<p>

During her statement, she had cried a couple of times (Sakura was, not for the first time, extremely glad that she had started carrying around make up wipes), and had had to be calmed down several times by Kakashi for two different reasons. The first being her talking way too fast for them and the second was that she had been crying so hard that she could barely even breathe, which meant that she was hardly even understandable.

Really, it should have been Tsunade who was there with her, or a legal representative or whatever they were called. Honestly, Sakura didn't care. She just wanted it all to be over.

Spotting a head of blond hair, Sakura grinned before quickening her pace and when she was side by side with him, her smile brightened.

"Sakura–chan!" Naruto exclaimed, seeming quite shocked to see her. "I thought you went home?"

Hearing the questioning tone in his voice, she shook her head. "Nope. There were just a couple of things I had to sort out. Anyways, how've you been doing? You haven't been over to see me in like, a week, or something. I thought you might have…"

Her expression saddened as she looked away and realising what she had thought, Naruto's steps faltered before he grabbed her hand and pulled her down a different corridor so that they could talk in private. He could feel her confusion rolling off of her in waves, but Naruto didn't look back and simply continued his way forward, letting go of her hand the moment he was certain that they were alone.

"Look, I know we agreed to be friends," Naruto told her slowly, "but there's something I need to ask you first."

Sakura still wasn't used to the 'new' Naruto. Even if he had his moments, he was definitely much more mature. "Anything." she tried to give him as much of a smile as possible, but it was difficult. It suddenly dawned on her that if she answered his question the wrong way, he might want nothing to do with her.

Naruto's eyebrows knitted together as he looked down at the ground, a pained expression flitting across his features before he looked back up at Sakura. "Do you regret what happened between us?"

She could feel her expression softening as she looked at Naruto and it didn't take her long to answer his question. "I regret not handling the situation between us properly." Sakura told him softly, feeling much calmer than she had earlier. "But that is the only thing I regret. Naruto," she whispered his name and grabbed his hand before clearing her throat, "I can't think of a better person to have given myself to. You were so gentle, so kind and loving. You have no idea how hard it was for me not to cry! I wanted so badly to love you back as much as you loved me, but I just couldn't. I_–_I tried. I really did!"

Before she could even react, Sakura was pulled into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry." he mumbled into her hair, his hold tight and secure. It made her feel safe. It was the sort of safety that only Naruto could make her feel. Her best friend. "I didn't want to ignore you… I just didn't know how to… I don't know! I'm not good at this sort of thing, you know? I just… I thought that you regretted what happened between us and… you know… that you didn't care. I was hurt, but I tried to get over it but then… then I found out about you and Sasuke… and it just made me feel so… _so angry_. Part of me wanted to hate you, but I could never hate you, Sakura–chan. You're my best friend, right?"

Trying to hide her tears and control her trembling, Sakura smiled into his chest, her own arms wrapping tightly around his waist. "Right."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - In fanfictions, people always seem to forget that despite his personality, Suigetsu _is_ a bad guy. He doesn't care about others and _enjoys_ killing. Yes, he protected Hebi or Taka or whatever the hell they're called now, but originally, if it hadn't been for Sasuke telling him not to, he would have slaughtered that entire army - or whatever it had been. Also, they always make him magically fall in love or prefer Sakura over Karin, which honestly just makes no sense to me at all. He more or less sticks around just to annoy Karin.**

**I bet none of you expected it to be Kabuto! He's just _so innocent_. Just kidding. I think I made it pretty obvious, to be honest. I hope I surprised you all with the Suigetsu part, though. There will be more surprises to come!**

**Oh, somebody asked about Sakura's time in the psychiatric hospital and if they were really allowed to do that to her. In some hospitals, they can. I was reading online about it and they said that for the more unstable suicidal patients, they sometimes have to do that to them. However, given the fact that she was only sixteen/seventeen at the time, I thought it best _not_ to have her completely stripped. I'm not sure if they'd do that to somebody who is still classed as a child in some countries. Don't forget that, including the fights with the unstable patients at the hospital, Sakura attempted suicide over twenty times.**

**Thank you to those who left me hair advice! I'm going to try out the products and everything you recommended! I didn't start dying my hair until I was thirteen, but it wasn't until around my sixteenth birthday that I really started to fuck with it. Bleach, crazy colours, blah. Somebody asked what type of dye I use. It's semi-permanent stuff called 'Crazy Colour' or 'Directions'. I used the bubble gum blue crazy colour dye before!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	39. You Used Me?

**Chapter ****39 ****– ****You Used Me?**

Her session with Tsunade was rough to say the least because Shisui just _had_ to contact her, asking about Sakura's mental state and if he could use her statement in court or something along those lines. The reason Tsunade had been angry with her was for watching those tapes, saying that she shouldn't have put herself through so much. Then, Tsunade had the nerve to say that she was entering one of her manic episodes! What the hell? Wouldn't Sakura have noticed already if she was?

She didn't blame Shisui for what had happened, though. He was just doing his job, right? Right.

Anyway, during her session, Tsunade had wanted to 'try something new' and by 'trying something new', she meant she wanted to beat the crap out of her. Well, Tsunade didn't actually do that, but they were the most intense self–defence lessons Sakura had ever had! But that was mostly because she had never had any before. Wait. Do you count fighting with your friends back when you was around thirteen? Probably not, but sparring – as he had called it – with Naruto certainly kept you on your toes.

Sakura was certain that this was Tsunade's way of getting her to release her energy, to tire herself out. It was working, too. Now, as well as their once a week meetings, she trained with the blonde two or three times a week depending on her schedule. It was calming her down a lot! Like Sakura had always thought that fighting or sparring, whatever the hell you want to call it, was like a stress–reliever. Turns out that Tsunade also sparred when she was feeling angry or stressed, which had genuinely surprised Sakura. Yes, the woman was in great shape for someone who was entering their fifties (even though she only looked like she was entering her thirties!), but Tsunade had never–

No, scratch that. Tsunade _did_ look the type to get into fights.

She had just finished her third session with Tsunade and each session lasted for over three hours. At first it had only been an hour and a half, but they kept losing track of time and ended up staying much later than what they had planned. Sakura was worn out – no she was absolutely exhausted! Tsunade never let her catch her breath, instead telling her that if this was a real fight, then her opponent would never let her catch her breath, either.

It wasn't only to get rid of her excess energy, though. Tsunade had said that, by teaching her how to protect herself, she hoped it would make Sakura feel safer. The pink haired teenager had always known how to fight, though she didn't know the names of punches or pressure points. No, Sakura had just let her fists fly when she had previously fought and Tsunade had, quite bluntly, told her that she fought like a terrified, cornered animal. All Sakura had said in response to that was a pathetic "oh".

There were always bruises covering her body now and Sakura could tell that none of her friends and family – though Gaara especially – liked them. After her first session, she had been unable to even move and when Gaara found her laying face down on her bed, he had pretty much thrown a fit, demanding to know who had hurt her. It only got worse when her bruises started to show. After a while, however, Sakura had managed to calm him down, saying that she was taking some self–defence classes and surprisingly, he had seemed quite comforted by that fact.

As well as being able to protect herself, training had other good points. For starters, she was fitter than she had ever been before! Every morning now, without fail, she would be up and in the garden doing some basic exercises. She would have gone for a run, but despite the lessons, Sakura still wasn't ready to face those woods yet. Yes, she had sat opposite of them a couple of months ago, but that was different. Her mind had been detached then.

There wasn't only that, either. All of the exercising was having a great effect on her body! She had lost a few pounds already and her stomach looked flatter now, her legs seemed more toned and her skin looked so much more healthy. Hell, Sakura could run at a dead sprint for fifteen minutes before growing breathless and needing a break! Her gym teacher, Gai, had been so proud of her. The poor man probably thought it was because of him if his exclamations were anything to go by. Sakura didn't bother to correct him as it would only result in a very loud and very explosive lecture about youth.

Tsunade was also helping her with something else, though that was to remain a secret until she actually managed to do it. Just the thought made her grin as she climbed into her car and started it, the drive home seeming to go much quicker than it usually did and before Sakura even knew it, she was home, being greeted by the smell of her mother's cooking. It made her mouth water! What was she cooking, cookies? Brownies?

Dumping her car keys on the table a few feet away from the front door, Sakura darted up the stairs with new energy, ripping off her clothing before she even got to her bedroom. Ever since she had been a kid, Sakura had loved helping Mebuki when she was baking. Well, not the cleaning part (unless her mother let her lick the bowl clean!).

Sakura was quick to hop into her shower, washing away the evidence of her training session with Tsunade and it felt like the tension in her muscles also lessened, too, helping her relax.

Just as she went to pick up the shampoo to start washing her hair, however, Sakura heard her phone ringing in the bedroom. She frowned, switching off the water and grabbing a towel. It was just barely even wrapped around her when she opened her bathroom door, hissing as the cold air hit her. Great! With one hand still holding onto the handle like she was contemplating running back into her bathroom, she looked around her room, trying to remember where the hell she had put her phone. It was still ringing, but as her eyes locked onto another set, she froze and her phone was forgotten in an instant. It wasn't the fact that he was in her room that startled her, though. It was the part of her body that he was staring at.

It was Sasuke.

And he was staring at her scars.

Letting go of the door handle, Sakura turned her arm around, pressing her wrists tightly against her as she folded her arms under her chest. She didn't miss how Sasuke's eyes followed each of her movements, like he couldn't tear his eyes away, but the moment her scars were no longer visible, it was like something snapped in Sasuke as he broke from his trance and stood up from his place at her computer desk, finally meeting her eyes with his own. He didn't say anything, though. He also didn't make any move towards her.

This was what she had been afraid of. Sasuke didn't know how to act around her anymore. He was looking at her differently. Sakura was surprised – and secretly proud of herself – that she didn't break down in tears right there and then. Instead, she took a deep breath, watching him carefully. "How did you get in here?"

"Mebuki."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. So he just came into her bedroom, almost scared the shit out of her and now wouldn't even say any more than one word? Turning away, Sakura walked over to her walk–in wardrobe, opening the door as quickly as she could before switching on the light and shutting the door behind her, leaving Sasuke to stand alone in her bedroom. If she had known somebody was in her bedroom, she would have entered her wardrobe from the door that connected to her bathroom, gotten changed and then went to–

Shit. She had forgotten about her phone ringing!

Oh well, she could always ring whoever it was back later, right? Sighing, Sakura grabbed her silk kimono after pulling on some clean underwear. Her mother had designed it especially for her. It was quite short, red and had a symbol on the back that was a simple white circle that wasn't filled (so basically, it was just an 'O'). Tying the sash around her waist tight enough so that nothing would be on show, Sakura used her towel to quickly towel dry her hair as she left her wardrobe and switched off the light, ignoring Sasuke as she threw the towel into her hamper and walked over to her mirror, brushing her hair.

"Sakura–"

"Where the hell did you go?" Her voice surprised even her. Never had she ever spoken to Sasuke in such a way, like she was _really_ pissed at him. She was though, wasn't she? Placing the brush down on the table and forgetting about her knotted hair, Sakura turned away from her reflection, glaring over at Sasuke. "I–"

"I needed to think some things through."

She was on her feet in an instant. "You needed to '_think things through_'?" Sakura repeated, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Why didn't you tell me that before you left? I was sat here like an idiot waiting for you to come and see me! I thought that I'd…" Her eyes fell to the ground, her eyebrows knitting together. "I thought that you didn't want me anymore because of what you found out."

Sasuke was silent as he watched Sakura fidget with the hem of her kimono, as she tugged at the sleeves to make sure they were covering her scars. He felt guilty for staring at them the way he had, especially after he saw how it affected her, but he just couldn't help it. No matter how much he knew he should look away, he couldn't. Why had she done that to herself? Yes, he had heard her confession to Gaara (Sasuke ignored the sudden anger that flooded him at the thought of the redhead) but he still didn't understand why. Not only that, but the sight of them… The scars were so thick and long… It made his chest ache. He couldn't stand the thought of her hurting herself or her trying to take her own life. She should have come to him! He would have tried to help!

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura's head snapped up as she frowned, but that frown soon turned into a glare. "Why didn't I tell you? Maybe it's because I knew you would react like you did!"

Even though he was trying to push away his anger, to _not_ snap at Sakura, Sasuke felt himself growing angrier by the second. "The least you could have done was say no!" he yelled at her. "Instead of letting me fuck you, you could have said no!" Taking advantage of her surprise, Sasuke continued. "You knew that you detached your mind, yet you still slept with me. Why?"

"I…"

He shook his head when she trailed off, fists clenching at his sides. "It makes me feel sick to my stomach knowing that I took advantage of you, knowing that I fucked you when you weren't even there mentally. I basically r–"

"You didn't take advantage of me." Sakura whispered, lowering her eyes to the ground once more. "Tsunade–sama… She told that sometimes, some victims of–"

"I know. You used me to try and get over what happened."

"I didn't use you!" Sakura all but screamed at him as she tried to ignore the tears filling her eyes. "Sasuke, please, I–"

Once again, Sasuke shook his head and cut her off. "I researched your illness whilst I was at Shisui's."

Oh how she wanted to slam his head into the wall. How the hell could he speak about these things with such an empty expression? Even Gaara had emotion on his face when he asked or spoke about her being bipolar, about the things that had happened to her.

Wait.

Did Sasuke just say that he had been at Shisui's? Shisui as in the Shisui who came by her school for her statement? Shisui as in Uchiha Shisui, the one who had the tapes of her being raped?

Her eyes widened as she stood up and stepped away from Sasuke. Had he seen the tapes? Yes, Shisui was a genius, but even a genius could mess up every now and then. What if he had taken the tapes home due to his busy schedule, left them laying around and Sasuke had found them? Oh God… Sasuke knew. She could see it in his eyes, the look he was giving her! _He knew_.

Was it bad that the first thought that went through her mind was that she wanted Gaara to be there, to comfort her?

She took another step back, tears falling as she watched Sasuke's eyebrows furrow. He was saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him. Hell, she couldn't even hear her own sobs, yet she knew they were there!

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Sakura trembling, as he watched her grab at her chest, as he watched her struggle to breathe, as he watched her stumble backwards. He tried moving closer to her, but every time he did, she would grow more panicked, would sob louder and take more steps back.

And then, just like that, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she went down.

Fortunately, Sasuke was quick enough to grab her before she smacked her head on the wooden flooring or on the corner of her vanity.

"Sakura!"

Feeling how warm her skin was, noticing that she was still trembling and was quite sweaty, he did the first thing he could think of, no matter how out of character it was.

He yelled, _screamed,_ for Mebuki.

Pulling Sakura closer to him as he dropped to his knees, Sasuke pushed the hair from her eyes with shaking hands, only vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps rushing towards them. His mind had gone blank and he couldn't remember what to do, couldn't even think!

"What happened?" Mebuki demanded the moment she entered the room, though the second she saw Sakura laying in Sasuke's arms, saw the wide–eyed, scared expression on his face, she shot forward, pulling Sakura out of his arms. It surprised her how much strength she had to put into it, like Sasuke didn't want her to take her own daughter, but in the end, he let her.

Gently placing Sakura down on the ground, Mebuki checked her pulse, listened to her breathing, her heartbeat, anything that came to mind! And finally, her head lowered, a sigh of relief escaping her as she sat back. "A panic attack." she told Sasuke, who seemed to be in shock. "They're happening more and more often lately. Sometimes she passes out after them, though not always. It depends on how tired she is."

"A panic attack?"

She nodded, looking over to him when she heard the vulnerable tone in his voice. He sounded so much younger than what he was. It reminded her of when Sasuke was a child and Itachi had gone away for a couple of weeks with some friends, reminded her of how lost he had seemed. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes, eyebrows knitting together as he tried to remember everything that had happened. "Sakura was yelling at me for leaving…" Sasuke said slowly, unsurely. "And I told her that I had been researching bipolar disorder, so that I can try and understand her more." Sasuke opened his eyes, looking down at Sakura. "…but then… she just…"

When he shook his head, like he didn't even know what to say, Mebuki sighed and placed her hand over his. "It wasn't your fault, Sasuke." she told him softly. "Sakura's having a tough time dealing with everything right now, though your leaving certainly didn't help any. She was so worried about you and even though she wouldn't say anything, I could tell that Sakura was scared of you seeing her differently." Once again, Mebuki sighed, also looking down at Sakura. "Her panic attacks are becoming more frequent, but now that we know why she keeps having them, Tsunade–sama said that it isn't uncommon for victims of rape to suffer from panic attacks."

Sasuke nodded once, still looking down at Sakura though he made no move to pull his hand from Mebuki's. He would never admit it out loud, but he cared for Sakura's mother. She had been his mother's best friend and had always been there for him and Itachi, especially after their parents had died. Also, Sasuke was secretly grateful for her presence, was grateful that she was trying to comfort him in a way only a mother knew how.

As for leaving for just under a month… Yes, Sasuke knew that he shouldn't have taken so long to get his head around everything, but honestly… He shook his head. It was still difficult for him to think about. It wasn't the fact that she was raped (not entirely, but it still hurt to think of her being attacked in such a way), it was the fact that she had continued sleeping with him despite the fact she detached her mind during sex. What if he had hurt her? Didn't it class as rape, or taking advantage of her? Oh God he hoped not! It made Sasuke feel sick to think of causing harm to Sakura. He cared about her way too much.

"Will you help me?" Mebuki asked suddenly. "I can't pick her up and I can't just leave her on the floor."

Once again, Sasuke nodded before leaning forward, wrapping one arm under her knees whilst the other went around her shoulders, lifting her as he pulled himself to his feet. Mebuki hovered over him, obviously nervous that he may drop her, but she didn't need to worry. It was easy for him to carry her over to her bed and place her down gently. In fact, it was almost too easy.

"Has Sakura been eating?" he asked before he could even stop himself.

Mebuki frowned and paused in tucking Sakura in before continuing. "Of course! Why would you ask?"

The back of his neck burned as Sasuke avoided meeting the blonde's eyes, instead choosing to watch Sakura. "…She's lighter."

Thankfully, it didn't seem like Mebuki understood how Sasuke would know such a thing, for which he was incredibly grateful. He didn't even want to imagine how _that_ particular conversation would go. "Oh, she's just been working out and taking self–defence lessons with Tsunade–sama. It's to make her feel safer but also to tire her out."

"Tire her out?"

Mebuki nodded as she motioned for Sasuke to follow her out of Sakura's room, waiting as the Uchiha silently shut the door behind him before continuing. "As you probably already know, since you have been doing research, there are two different types of episodes for bipolar disorder: manic and depressive. Sakura has both, though she usually leans more on the manic side rather than the depressive. Right now, Sakura is having a manic episode and has been for the past two or three weeks. It's not the same for everyone, but for Sakura, she can become quite violent when she has too much energy or simply… snaps." she fell silent for a moment as she glanced up at Sasuke. "You know of the symptoms, don't you?" When Sasuke nodded, Mebuki continued. "To balance out her mood, Sakura takes medication daily and also has a weekly therapy session with Tsunade–sama, where she talks about how she's feeling and things such as that."

Again, Sasuke nodded, remembering how Tsunade had – quite dramatically – barged into Sarutobi's office and had managed to calm Sakura down with little to no trouble. It had been obvious to them all that Sakura respected the woman. In fact, she seemed like a much older version of her!

"Sakura won't…" It took everything in him not to scrunch his face up as he spoke. "She won't hurt herself, will she?"

There was the sound of a sigh before Mebuki put her hand on the his shoulder. "There's no way of knowing, we just have to hope she doesn't." Seeing his eyes lower to the ground, obviously not liking her answer, she gave him a soft smile. "Why don't you stay for a while? We have some fresh tomatoes in the refrigerator and I can tell you more about her illness, if you want."

He nodded.

Now that he knew the truth, he would do anything to help Sakura.

He also wouldn't mind some tomatoes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – You've all disappeared! Well,**** most of you have. I'm not one of those authors who are all like "if you don't review, I'm not going to update again", because I know I'll keep updating. I'm just saying that it's nice waking up to them!  
><strong>

**DiizGiirlJess, of course I read the reviews! I get emails on my phone every time I get one, so I usually wake up to them. Sometimes, because I wake up and read them first thing in the morning, when I get around to updating, my mind just goes blank and I completely forget! I do reply to some though! And yeah, I was reading about bipolar disorder and it said that those who are either entering or already having a manic episode, tend to talk fast and get quite hyper. It's difficult to write about, because I'm not sure if I'm getting it right, but I hope that I am! :-)  
><strong>

**Sora plus Kairi equals love Thank you for telling me that! I got quite confused reading about it online and it didn't say anything about under 18s. I'll have a look at what you said soon!**

**aria206 I wish I could have had Gaara do much worse to him! But, you're going to have to wait and see ;-)**

**ANYWAYS, I'm going to go and have my hair coloured now since at the moment, it's a weird blonde/white colour.  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	40. She Is My Woman

**Chapter ****40 ****– ****She Is My Woman**

Sakura felt groggy when she woke up and without even opening her eyes, her hand shot out, blindly searching under her pillows for her phone to check the time. Only, when she couldn't find it, she groaned with annoyance and finally raised her head, looking over at the clock on her bedside table. It was only quarter past three in the morning. What time had she fallen asleep? Remembering what had happened, she once again groaned and dropped her head heavily back onto the pillow, snuggling deeper under her covers to try and stay warm. Sakura was aware that she had passed out last night and had woken up not long after, though she had been too worn out to do anything other than remove her silk kimono, not wanting to ruin it by sleeping in it. That had been around nine, possibly ten and after that, she had fallen asleep.

Knowing that sleep wouldn't come to her again, she shuffled under her covers to the edge of her bed, making sure to wrap them around her as she sat up and got out of bed. There had been a phone call that she needed to return and though Sakura knew that it was far too late to call whoever it was back, she at least wanted to know who it had been. As she reached the end of her bed, Sakura switched on her television and turned the volume down so that she didn't wake her parents, though paused in her place as she realised it was a rerun of one of her new obsessions, the one she had been telling Kakashi about, Supernatural. For some reason, they always showed the episodes pretty late at night/early in the morning.

When she finally found her phone, Sakura made her way back over to her bed, grabbing a bottle of water out of her mini–fridge (though it really wasn't that small). Her mother had bought it for her so that Sakura wouldn't have to go all the way downstairs at night for a drink when she couldn't sleep. It was for all of their benefits really, because sometimes Sakura wasn't as quiet as she should be at three o'clock in the morning.

A smile curved her lips as she got settled back in bed again. It had been Gaara who had called her! It didn't surprise her, though. If she didn't call him to tell him she had gotten home safe from her sessions with Tsunade, then he would call her. To others, it may seem a little over the top, but Sakura liked how protective he was of her.

Knowing that he either switched his phone off or turned it on silent at night, she decided to text him.

'_Sorry I didn't call you back, I was kind of busy and fell asleep! I've just woken up now and I'll explain everything when you're awake x'_

Gaara never put kisses to her, but it always made her smirk seeing the strange looks he would send her way when she sent them to him. Sometimes, just to bug him, she sent him nothing more than an 'x' or a kissy face. Oh how she loved annoying him!

A couple of minutes after the text had been sent and she had gotten comfortable to watch the rest of Supernatural, his picture appeared on her screen, making her heart melt. It was a picture of the both of them and she had managed to get Gaara to actually smile! It wasn't like his previous smiles on pictures, either. On this picture it seemed genuine as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Oh and the blush on his cheeks because of her kissing his cheek was adorable!

"_What happened?_"

Trust Gaara not to say 'hello, how are you?'. "Well good morning to you, too, sunshine." she teased softly, keeping her voice low just in case her parents heard her.

"_Sakura_…"

The way he said her name made her shiver. Sighing, she decided to tell him. "When I got back from training with Tsunade–sama… Sasuke was here." The other line was completely silent, which meant he wanted her to continue. "We got into an argument and… Gaara, I think Sasuke has seen the tapes."

"_What makes you think that?_"

She shook her head, but remembering that he couldn't see her, she spoke up, fidgeting with the sheets covering her body as she did so. "It was the way he was looking at me." Sakura told him quietly and if it hadn't been for her favourite character suddenly appearing on screen, she would have shut her eyes. "And he said something about researching my illness whilst he was at Shisui's."

For a moment, there was silence on the other line before Gaara sighed. "_That doesn't mean that Sasuke has seen the tapes, Sakura."_

"So why are you still up?" she asked, not caring that her change of topic was blatantly obvious.

"_Why do you think_?" he retorted and Sakura could practically _hear _his eyes rolling. Right. Gaara was an insomniac.

Smirking to herself, Sakura looked at the television screen once again, her legs bent at the knees and swaying this way and that. "Want to have phone–sex?" When there was once again nothing but silence, Sakura quickly checked her phone to make sure he didn't hang up. It would be a total Gaara thing to do if he did! "I'm only kidding." she giggled softly before adding in a lower voice, "Unless you want to, of course."

She wasn't so sure, but she could have sworn that she heard Gaara groan before muttering, "_You're such a tease."_

Her legs dropped to the bed before lifting again and bending at the knees, eyes widening. Had Gaara just…? Was he actually in a playful mood? She bit her lip, feeling those damned butterflies fluttering inside of her stomach once again before they slowly turned into a pool of warmth that continued moving south. "_I'm_ a tease?" she asked, her voice sounding breathy as her thighs shifted restlessly. "_Please_! Every time we make–out, just when it seems like you're about to take it further, you always leave me hot and bothered!"

"_Oh?"_

"Mm–hm!" she was smirking again but was careful not to let it show through her voice. "So then I have to deal with the ache myself!" Sakura heard something that sounded a lot like his breath catching. "…And touching myself only goes so far, even when I'm imagining that it's _you_ who is doing it."

By now, Sakura's free hand had disappeared under the covers and into her underwear and she couldn't stop the quivering gasp that escaped her as she ran a single digit over her slit. Previously, she would never have touched herself while on the phone to somebody (not even Sasuke), but instead of worrying about how she may come across or how she sounded, Sakura focused only on the thrill of it, the pleasure that was running through her body when Gaara replied. How was it possible that just his voice could turn her on? Not only that, but his words were surprisingly racy.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>He thought that he was going to lose his mind. He really, <em>really <em>did.

Walking through the building with purposeful strides, his fists clenched. He tried his best to ignore the pathetic brats by his side. It was because of them that everything had been screwed up! They just couldn't keep their mouths closed, could they? Not only that, but one of the idiots had actually given away evidence, given away things that could very well mean the end for all of them!

Well, _they_ may be sent away for a long time since they were no longer of use to him or his master, but he wouldn't be. He was still important around here, no matter how much the others hated him. Oh, he wasn't offended by that! No, they were just jealous that he was better than them, that he had a higher rank, that he meant more to their master than they ever would. Some would call him insane, though that was simply a matter of opinion. Yes, he had done many, _many_ questionable things, but insane? Please. He preferred the term 'mad scientist'.

Turning a corner, he sighed when he spotted a dark haired man he had grown to hate over the past year. This… _man_… had somehow gotten a hold of his woman. Nobody other than himself was supposed to touch her, yet this vile creature had violated her! The worst part about it was that he couldn't even do anything. He had to play nice because their master ordered him to. Oh how he wanted to rip the bastard to pieces! Maybe when their master was bored of him, he could use the sad excuse of a man as his latest experiment…

"Oi–"

"Not now, Zaku." he replied airily, waving the dark haired man off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Orochimaru–sama is waiting for us, so I don't have time to stand around and entertain you."

Zaku's eyes darkened as he watched the man. He knew of his hate for him, he knew that the man would torture him without batting an eye and the sad thing was that Zaku knew he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the psycho. He hadn't really had a problem with the older man until over a year ago when something – when some_body_ – rather precious entered his life. The bastard had tried stealing her from him, had tried telling him that Cherry was _his _woman! Zaku had to hold back a growl. No. Cherry belonged to him. If there was a label on her (which he probably would have put on her if she hadn't disappeared) it would say 'Zaku'. Zaku made a mental note that if he ever found his dear Cherry again, he would make sure she got his name tattooed somewhere on her body. Perhaps her inner thighs? Or what about her ass? He smirked to himself. She had such a beautiful body.

"You should come, too." The man continued a little reluctantly over his shoulder, already down the hall. "This also includes you."

Without saying a word, Zaku followed the four in front of him, but he didn't pay any attention to them other than watching which way they were going. It wasn't everyday that you got to meet the boss! What the hell was going on? Sneaking a glance at the three teenagers, his eyes narrowed. He knew two of them, but the big guy was somebody he didn't recognise. Was he new? No! He could remember him now. The guy had been friends with Kimimaro, hadn't he? Yeah… and then when Kimimaro died because of some strange illness, this big guy had gone on a rampage. Zaku nonchalantly edged away from him.

It was an unspoken rule that you should never trust anybody around here and Zaku had learned that the hard way. There wasn't any proof, but he was certain that it was these brats who had something to do with his Cherry leaving. After all, she couldn't have just slipped out by herself! Even _he_ had been able to tell that the girl wasn't completely there mentally. But what if it hadn't been them? What if it had been someone completely different? Fucking hell. How many enemies did he have?

When they finally reached their master's office, Zaku had to force himself not to show his unease, though he couldn't say the same for two of the brats beside him. The girl was trying to act strong, but knowing her the way he did, Zaku could tell that it was a front. The look in her eyes told him that she was terrified. He couldn't blame her, really. Their master wasn't a very nice man and you most definitely did not want to get on his bad side.

The office was dimly lit and it didn't help Zaku's unease in the least as he spotted a floor to ceiling tank going down the right side of the room, holding a large snake. Fuck, the entire room looked and felt like somewhere a snake would live!

"Kabuto." A voice hissed from the other side of the room, making Zaku tense. "What is it?"

The man Zaku absolutely despised stepped closer to their master. "Orochimaru–sama, there's something you should know about."

Orochimaru sat up straighter at his desk, tilting his head to the side as he regarded each of them with a stone cold glare, one that had two of the three teens by Zaku's side gulping and shuffling closer to each other. He felt like scoffing. Yeah, like standing closer to one another would save them from Orochimaru! If he could move away from them without attracting attention, Zaku would have, because there wasn't a chance in hell that he was getting himself killed for those three brats. Well, those three brats and Kabuto. That fucking four–eyed bastard!

Kabuto stepped to the side of the desk, gesturing for the four to stand in a straight line and step forward, too. As they moved, Zaku also took a step to the side, not wanting to be directly in front of Orochimaru or next to the bitch that was standing by his side.

"It seems Karin has managed to–"

"I didn't mean to!" she snapped, her eyes widening as she took a step forward. "What the hell was I supposed to do when I had _Uchiha Itachi_ at my house, _strangling_ me?"

Silence.

The look she suddenly received from Orochimaru had even Kabuto freeze in his place, had him fighting back the urge to shudder. "What."

His single word sounded more like a hiss and like it could feel its master's rising anger, the snake in the tank lifted its head. Karin stepped back again and if her eyes could widen any further, they would have. "I–I…"

"She gave the tapes she and Zaku created to Itachi–san, it seems, Orochimaru–sama."

This time, Karin was shot a glare from Zaku. "Tapes?" His voice was low and deadly as he spoke, turning his head to the side, although not completely turning his body so that he was unable to at least try and defend himself if Orochimaru or Kabuto attacked him. "The tapes of Cherry?"

"Cherry…" Kabuto's voice shook ever so slightly, like he was forcing himself not to snap Zaku's neck. "Her name is not 'Cherry'. It is Sakura."

"Who cares about her?" Karin shrieked just as Zaku had been about to retort. "Both Suigetsu and I have been in hiding for the past couple of weeks because of that bitch and–"

She was cut off by a hand that suddenly lashed out, making her head whip to the side as her lip busted due to the force. Luckily, the big guy beside her caught her glasses and handed them back to her without saying a word, though he did offer her a sympathetic look.

It surprised them all how angry Kabuto was. Hell, even Orochimaru looked quite surprised, though he didn't show it as much as the rest of them. Karin's friends looked as though they wanted to rip his head off (Kabuto didn't doubt that they did), whilst Zaku simply huffed, thankful that somebody had shut the whiny bitch up.

"Cherry would have destroyed you if she heard you speaking about her like that." Zaku muttered to himself, but was ignored by the others.

"Don't talk about Sakura that way." Kabuto warned her, the lights bouncing off of his glasses and hiding his eyes, making his warning seem so much more deadly. Then, like it was a switch, he calmed himself and turned back to Orochimaru. "It seems Itachi–san has notified his cousin, Shisui–san, who practically runs the entire police force, about the tapes."

"He's not the only one, either." One of the boys by Karin's side grumbled.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and if it hadn't been for how serious their current predicament was, he would have been quite amused by the look on the boy's face. "Oh? And what do you mean by that, Suigetsu?"

The sound of his name being hissed made Suigetsu tense ever so slightly but he held back his shudder and spoke again. "Sakura's new boyfriend knows, too." If he noticed the anger that flashed through both Kabuto and Zaku's eyes, he ignored it. "He tried attacking me at school–"

"And he totally beat the crap out of you."

"Shut up, Karin!"

"Make me, idiot!"

"Enough with your childish banter." Orochimaru snapped, a murderous look in his eyes as he glared at them all. "Who did you fight with?"

Suigetsu looked reluctant to answer, but did so anyway. "Gaara. Sabaku Gaara."

It was unnoticeable how Orochimaru suddenly tensed, just like it was unnoticeable how his hands twitched, wanting nothing more than to lash out and slaughter the group before him. Not only did he have the Uchiha clan after him, but now also the Sabaku clan? If he wasn't who he was, Orochimaru would have said that he was well and truly screwed. However, like the genius he was, he always had a plan. All he needed was a certain somebody to accept his offer and he could put it into place.

And with his new plan, he got rid of _all_ nuisances and possible threats.

Starting with the two most powerful families on the planet.

Uchiha and Sabaku.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - This is just a filler chapter and took me about fifteen minutes to write.  
><strong>

**I want to say that this chapter is for all of you, but it is mostly for Nekothelostbutterfly. I know it's not a very happy chapter, but if it helps keep you distracted, I promise I will update every chance I get!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	41. Surprise Visitor

**Chapter 4****1 ****– ****Surprise Visitor**

Sakura looked around her room in confusion. When the hell had she fallen asleep? The last thing she remembered was being on the phone to Gaara, talking about–

Her eyes widened as Sakura sat up onto her knees, lifting her covers and pillows as she searched for her phone and once she found it, she sighed, but her eyes once again widened when she noticed that the call was still connected. Damn, her father was going to murder her! Despite him having enough money to pay for her bill… Wait, it had been Gaara who called her last night, hadn't it? Yes. It had! Oh, now she felt bad.

Bringing the phone up to her ear, Sakura listened to see if there were any signs of Gaara being awake on the other line, but there were none. "Gaara?" No answer. She frowned before trying again, calling his name a couple more times until she got an answer, her stomach fluttering when she heard the sleepy groan of 'what'. If she hadn't known how important sleep was to him since he only managed to get so little of it, she would have yelled at him for speaking so rudely to her. "Gaara, are you awake?"

"_Sakura_?"

Hearing the frown in his sleepy voice, she chuckled. "We fell asleep whilst on the phone."

"_Hn._" She heard him grunt and listened to the sounds of rustling and presumed that it was Gaara sitting up since a moment later, his voice sounded closer. "_More like it was _you_ who fell asleep._"

Sakura rolled her eyes, smiling to herself as she got out of bed. "Weren't you the one who was asleep just now?" she teased, entering her walk–in wardrobe and grabbing some clean underwear as well as a pair of joggers and a long sleeved top. Since she had only managed to wash her body last night, Sakura was determined to finish her shower.

"_You fell asleep first_." Gaara informed her. "_I fell asleep not long after."_

She smiled to herself as she used the second door in her wardrobe to go into her bathroom. Sakura knew what Gaara was telling her: he had managed to fall asleep to the sound of her even breathing. That helped her, too. There was just something relaxing about hearing somebody else sleeping. Well, as long as they didn't snore or breathed too heavily, there was. Back when she had been staying with Itachi and Sasuke, falling asleep in Itachi's bed had made her feel relaxed since he had been next to her. Then, having Gaara sleeping next to her made it almost ridiculously easy to fall asleep.

Pulling her phone away from her ear, Sakura glanced down at the duration time and her eyes widened. "We've been on the phone for over eight hours."

There was silence for a moment before Gaara spoke again, "_So it would seem._"

"Won't that cost you?"

"_No_." he told her and she wasn't too sure, but it sounded like he was getting out of bed. "_My package is_–"

"_Very_ big." Sakura smirked to herself, only to slap a hand to her mouth a second later. She can_not _believe she had just said that out loud! It was supposed to only be a thought! At the silence on the other end, Sakura grimaced. "Um…" Again, nothing but silence. "Any plans for today?"

During his pause, Sakura decided on having a bath instead of a shower and switched the taps on. Once the water was hot, she put the plug in before standing up straight again and stretching.

"_I have a meeting_." Gaara told her, still seeming stunned by her words. For a moment, she wondered if he was blushing. "_It should be over by four, possibly five o'clock._"

A genuine smile graced her lips. "A meeting with the company? Oh, well, good luck! Will you still be coming over tonight? I think my mom's going to be dragging my dad out. They've been going out a lot together, recently. It's kind of nice to see that they're slowly getting back to normal again." After all the strain she had put on their marriage and all of the trouble she had put them through, Sakura knew that they deserved it.

"_Of course._" he replied without a second of hesitation, though he paused for a moment before speaking again. "_Would you not like to talk to Sasuke today? You said that he returned_–"

She sighed, adding some blue coloured bubble bath to the water. "I'm not sure if I even want to talk to him yet, Gaara." Sakura barely even whispered before speaking a little louder. "I mean, he's been gone all this time without saying a word to me and now he just thinks everything can go back to normal? No. That's not how it works. I know that Sasuke has every right to be upset with me for not telling him, but –_ damn it_!"

"_Sakura_?" Hearing the concern in his voice made her stomach fill with butterflies once again, but Sakura was too busy waving her hand in the air as though she could shake the pain away.

"It's nothing. I just burned my hand."

Turning on the cold tap, Sakura turned around and sat down on the edge of her bath. "_I see._" There was the sound of a sigh before Gaara spoke again. "_Sasuke has no right to be angry with you, Sakura. Given how your relationship with him works_–"

"Work_ed_."

"–_then he shouldn't have been expecting you to tell him anything._" He had hardly been a good friend recently.

She ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip but then grimacing when she felt how greasy and knotty her hair was. "But what he said was true, Gaara. I should have at least told him about my mind detaching and about being bipolar. The look in his eyes…" Sakura shook her head, whispering her next sentence. "Gaara, I think Sasuke believes he's raped me."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day already, Gaara paused before speaking, like he was trying to find the words to say. "_It's my fault. I was the one who_–"

"I don't care." Sakura mumbled, standing up and rummaging through her cabinets for a new razor. "You were just looking out for me. Yeah, I wish you hadn't told him, but he deserved to know. Knowing you, you probably said it a little bluntly, but it's not your fault that Sasuke took it the wrong way."

"_It still wasn't my place to say anything._" His voice was just as quiet and she could almost hear the frown in his voice.

"If you didn't notice, I wasn't exactly able to tell him myself that day." Finding a razor, Sakura put it on the edge of the bath and grabbed a clean bar of soap as well as a sponge before dumping them both into the water. "And… it _is_ your place to say things like that. Well, maybe not in front of the others, but you get what I mean." she paused for a moment, sighing. "We haven't really labelled what we have or what we are to each other…" Sakura told him a little awkwardly, feeling the temperature of the water before switching off the taps. "And even though the word doesn't come close, I kind of think of you as my boyfriend, you know?" On the other line, she heard his breathing stop for a moment. "I like it when you get protective of me. It shows me that you care about our relationship and about _me_."

Gaara sighed again. "_Speak to Sasuke, Sakura. He means a lot to you and I know that you mean a lot to him. As much as I hate to admit it, Uchiha is a lot like me and I can read him easily. He isn't handling what I told him well and I know that you are the only person who can relieve him of that guilt._" There was yet another pause before he spoke again. "_I know that, if our roles were reversed, I would be… grateful… if he told you to do the same for me._" Just as Sakura opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that Sasuke probably wouldn't do something like that, Gaara spoke again, his tone awkward but his words making her smile. "_I _do_ care about our relationship and you, which is why I want you to speak to him._"

Silently stunned by how much he had said, Sakura could only smile before forcing herself to snap out of her daze. Gaara had just admitted that he cared about their relationship and her! Sure, it wasn't a love confession and he also hadn't said anything about the boyfriend comment, but Sakura had a feeling that he wouldn't want to discuss such things over the phone. He would prefer to tell her them in person.

"I'll go and see him today." Sakura told him softly as she locked her bathroom door and removed her underwear with one hand, shuffling awkwardly as she removed her bra. "But I still want you to come over tonight."

"_Ring me any time after half past five. I should be out of the meeting by then._"

"I will." she replied as she moved over to the docking station. "I'm about to get in the bath, so I'll see you later. Unless you want to skip your meeting and join me?"

It seemed he realised she was only teasing as when he replied, she could hear the smirk in his voice. "_Maybe later_."

"It's a date!" Sakura grinned before saying, "I'll call you after… after half past five, did you say?"

"Yes."

"Okay, bye!"

Knowing how awkward he found saying goodbye on the phone, Sakura chuckled to herself before ending the call, though, thinking it a little rude to do so, she sent him a text that was filled with nothing more than a kissy face. She didn't need to see him to know that he would be rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

Smiling, Sakura plugged her phone into the docking station that was on a shelf and hit play on one of her many playlists before getting into her bath, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt her muscles immediately relaxing in the hot water.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time and just as Sakura had been about to finally to go over to Sasuke's, there was a knock on her bedroom door, which made her frown considering that it wasn't even closed. She hardly ever closed her bedroom door since she got dressed in her wardrobe and having it open made her parents more comfortable.<p>

When she turned around, her eyes widened.

It was Sasuke.

She really hadn't expected him to come back so soon! In fact, Sakura had thought that it would have been her who made the first move, who cornered him into speaking to her. What the hell was going on? And… And had Sasuke seriously just knocked? He always walked in without permission!

"Sasuke."

The surprise in her voice was obvious and if what Sasuke was there for hadn't been so important, so serious, he would have rolled his eyes at her. Instead, he sighed and stepped into her bedroom, though because of what Kazashi had told him last night before he had left, he left the bedroom door open. It seemed whilst he was away, new rules had been put in place. They wouldn't tell him why, but Sasuke had a hunch that it had something to do with Gaara.

"Are you going to listen to me?" he drawled, but despite his voice sounding bored, he looked serious. "Or are you going to start screaming at me again?"

"I only freaked out last night because you've seen the tapes."

Her heart leaped right into her throat at the genuine confusion in his frown. "What tapes?"

Oh God…

His eyes narrowed as Sasuke took a step forward, watching Sakura with hidden wariness when her eyes widened and she made an 'oh shit' expression. Speaking again, Sasuke's voice was harder, more demanding. "What tapes, Sakura?"

"Shisui…" she mumbled, her hands shaking. "H–He didn't…"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, although this time his voice was softer when he noticed how scared Sakura looked. Closing the distance between them and taking her hand, he moved her over to the bed and sat her down on the edge of it, though he stayed standing. "What about Shisui?"

And suddenly, her fear was gone and she was smiling brightly at him. "It's nothing! I just thought that you had seen or heard my statement, since it had been recorded and Shisui was the one who questioned me."

It annoyed him how he couldn't even tell if she was lying anymore. When they were younger, Sakura had been like an open book to him and he had been able to read her emotions like he was simply looking up at the sky, looking at the weather. Now, her eyes were guarded and he didn't know what to make of that. "I see." Sasuke replied, glancing around her room a little awkwardly as he tried to think of something to say. Apologising wasn't something he did very often, if at all, but Sasuke knew that Sakura definitely deserved an apology from him because she was right. He shouldn't have just left her when she needed him. "Sakura, about what happened… I shouldn't have–"

"Don't." Sakura interrupted him with a soft smile. "Don't change who you are for me, Sasuke, otherwise you wouldn't be the guy that I fell in love with. I don't want to speak to a stranger, I want to speak to _you_. You don't apologise. You're arrogant and proud and stubborn!" At his frown, her smile widened. "And that's what I like about you! Yes, I'm _pissed_ that you just left without at least telling me, because if you really felt like you needed some time alone to think, I would have understood! Believe me, I know what it's like to need time alone to myself. Just… If you go away again without telling me, making me feel as down as you did… just know that when you do eventually come back, it won't be to me."

His eyes were wide and a hurt look flitted across his features, which in response made Sakura look away, her heart aching for causing him pain. Even if it hurt Sasuke, though, he needed to know. "Sasuke, your leaving hurt me way more than I even want to admit because it makes me feel pathetic and like a child, but it doesn't change that it _did_ make me feel that way. I don't want to go through that again. Waiting up all night by my phone hoping you'd call… Never leaving the house hoping that you'd come by and visit me…" she shook her head, finally looking back up at him with a serious expression. "I refuse to go through that again, Sasuke. No matter how much I love you, I won't let you hurt me anymore, even if it is unintentionally."

Sasuke looked down at the wooden floor as he tried to get his head around her words. Was that a warning, or a promise? Was she trying to tell him that he was already close to losing her? His jaw clenched. It made him sound like a dick, but Sasuke couldn't deny that he had always thought that Sakura would be there, that she would always be waiting for him. Now… He wasn't so sure.

"You missed the English assignment deadline." Sakura suddenly told him as she stood up again. "I finished it on time though and we get our grades back in a couple of weeks." When she got no reply, Sakura bit her lip. "I found an old photo album the other week." He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Remember when we all went on holiday together, back when we were like… twelve or thirteen?" At his nod, she grinned, skipping over to her bookshelf to grab the album. "I found the pictures!"

He stiffened ever so slightly when Sakura pulled him down to the ground at the end of her bed, holding the album in between them as she flipped it open. The first picture almost made his breath leave him.

The holiday had been a joint one with not only his family and Sakura's family, but also Naruto's. For the first picture, they had asked a stranger to take it for them so that they could all be on it. They were all together. Naruto, Sakura and himself right at the front of the group with Shisui and Itachi kneeling slightly behind their seated positions. Behind _them_, were their parents and all of them were smiling except for Fugaku, though he had a warm look in his eyes and was smirking.

Sasuke let out a shaky breath as he stared down at his parents' faces, his eyes sticking to his mother's smiling face for longer than his father's. This was the last vacation they had gone on together before his parents died. Speaking about them, hearing about them and seeing pictures of them had been difficult for a while and if he was being completely honest, it still was. But… seeing their faces again… it was nice.

Noticing his reaction, Sakura's eyes widened before she looked down at the album. How could she have been so stupid? "I–I'm sorry, Sasuke. I didn't–"

"No." he mumbled, flipping the page over and smirking softly when he saw that the picture was of Sakura with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at a sheepishly grinning Naruto and Shisui. "This… Thank you for showing me."

"They were both perverts." Sakura chuckled, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't want her to linger on the subject for too long. "Remember? I had been getting changed into my swimsuit when I heard _giggling_!"

Sasuke remembered it like it was only yesterday. Sakura had been thirteen and her body had been slowly but surely starting to fill out and Naruto, being the pervert he was, was caught by Shisui when he had been trying to peep into Sakura's room. You would think that because of being an Uchiha, Shisui would have yelled at him or something of the sort, but as it turned out, Shisui and Naruto were more alike than you would think. It had been only minutes later when they had heard Sakura scream, heard pained yelps from the two boys and when they arrived, Kushina had just _had _to take a picture before she also screamed at them both.

The next picture had him holding back a smile. In the background, Itachi and Shisui were sitting by the edge of the pool with their backs to the camera, though their heads were turned to face it (Sakura would never tell Sasuke, but back then, she had a crush on both older boys and thought that the two looked hot in their swimsuits with their muscles on show), watching what was happening behind them with their amusement obvious. Behind them, Naruto had a water gun in his hands and was trying to spray Sasuke with it, who had, in order to protect himself, grabbed Sakura and used her as a shield because he was such a gentleman.

Sakura smiled down at the picture. After the picture had been taken and Naruto had run out of water, Sasuke had let go of Sakura, but the moment he had, she had tackled him into the pool. Only seconds had passed before Naruto cannonballed in, soaking both Itachi and Shisui, who had not been happy to say the least, since they had then teamed up on him.

"That was a great holiday." Sakura commented, flipping over the page and smiling at the picture of her and Itachi sitting together, watching the sun setting and eating dango.

Glancing at the next picture, his eyes narrowed. It was of him and Naruto, though the blond was currently sprawled out on the ground with a pained expression and Sasuke's foot was pinning him down. Sasuke had an annoyed look on his face, his arms folded over his chest, making him seem arrogant. Remembering what had happened had his eyes narrowing further. The idiot had tried to put his arm around him for the picture, but right at the last second it became obvious that Naruto had been attempting to put Sasuke in a headlock so that he could give him a 'noogie'. It had taken little to no effort in slamming the blond to the ground and pinning him with just his foot.

"Hn."

"Oh come on," Sakura laughed, "you can't say that _that_ wasn't a good summer!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but just as he was about to say something, Sakura's mother came bursting into the room, her eyes wide. At the worried look in her eyes, both Sasuke and Sakura straightened in their seats on her bedroom floor, wondering what could have made her look so flustered.

"Mom–"

Mebuki gave Sakura a tight smile. "I'm sorry, dear, but you have another visitor. Only, he didn't give me much of a choice of allowing his visit."

She immediately stood up, wondering what could have happened to make her mother look so uneasy. It was a look Sakura had seen many times when her mother felt as though she wasn't in control. That was something Mebuki absolutely despised – not being in control. None of her friends would dare to argue with her mother and not only because Sakura was her daughter. They all respected Mebuki too much. Behind her, Sasuke closed the photo album and placed it on the end of Sakura's bed, watching Mebuki with hidden concern.

"What–"

Before she could continue speaking, a man stepped into her bedroom. He wore a plain black suit and had his hair spiked up with so much gel that it looked dirty and unwashed. At the sight of his dark hair and equally dark eyes, Sakura stopped breathing, dread filling her as she took an unsure step back. When her entire body tensed as though she was expecting something, Sasuke finally stood up and Mebuki drifted closer to her.

"Hello Sakura–chan." he gave her a smile that she knew was fake. "It's been such a long time."

She couldn't speak. Hell, it felt as though she couldn't even breathe!

Seeing that Sakura was clearly in distress, Sasuke stepped forward until he was in front of her. The way he held himself as he narrowed his eyes at the man made it obvious he was trying to intimidate him. However, the man showed no signs of being intimidated as he eyed Sasuke with disgust before looking back to Sakura.

"Well, aren't you going to say something?" he chuckled before stepping forward. As he did, Sasuke also stepped forward and at the sight of Sasuke getting protective, the man rolled his eyes as his cheerful act slipped away. "Do not try to pick a fight with me, _boy_," he sneered, even though he didn't seem that much older than Sasuke, "it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Sasuke clenched his fists at the challenge. "Is that so?"

Just as the man was about to speak, Mebuki stepped in. "I will not tolerate any violence in my house or for either of you to stress Sakura out. Sasuke, you know the rules."

"So _you're_ Sasuke, eh?" The man repeated as he rubbed his chin. "I've heard that name before. Your last name is Uchiha, correct?"

Mebuki narrowed her eyes, glancing over at Sasuke with worry before looking back at the man, her maternal instincts screaming at her to defend them both. After Mikoto had died, she had promised the woman she would protect her sons, knowing how much they both meant to her. "Who are you?"

"An old friend of Sakura–chan's." he told them, his smile returning, though it looked more like an unsettling leer.

"Mom." Sakura said quietly before clearing her throat. "It's fine. Y–You can go."

She looked torn as she turned to her daughter. "Sakura–"

Sakura shook her head. "I have Sasuke here, so I'll be fine. If there's any trouble, I'll call for you, I promise."

After her mother had disappeared, Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Sakura, who is he?"

She averted her eyes as she spoke. "Do you… remember when I told Gaara that I went missing… that I did awful things with people I didn't know?"

His entire body tensed, his face paling as he felt his stomach twisting.

"This is the guy. This is Zaku."


	42. I'm Not Like Him!

**Chapter 4****2 ****– ****I'm Not Like Him!**

"Get out." Sasuke snarled in Zaku's direction, his upper lip curling with disgust and anger as he shoved Sakura behind him, ignoring her shocked yelp. "_Now_."

He remembered everything that not only Sakura had said on the tape, but also what Gaara had told him not long after. Whatever the hell had happened during those two weeks had had a massive effect on Sakura and had mentally screwed her up more than what she had already been. Gaara had warned him that she detached her mind not only because she was raped in the woods, but also because of the things that had happened to her during those two weeks.

"Oh?" Zaku smirked, tilting his head to the side. "You told him about me, Cherry? I'm honoured."

"Fuck you!" she snapped suddenly and stepped to the side to glare at him, though didn't move completely from behind Sasuke's body just in case he attacked her. "My name's Sakura!"

Zaku's smirk grew. He loved it when his girl got so angry and feisty! Did she realise just how beautiful a sight she made? If only that bastard wasn't in the way, he would have been able to fully appreciate the way her chest heaved, how her stance widened and fists clenched as though she was about to punch him. If it weren't for his orders, he would kill the Uchiha right there and then, but Zaku knew that he couldn't. Yes, it would anger his Cherry and therefore give him some entertainment (and possibly turn him on since her anger had always aroused him), but it would also mess up Orochimaru's plans. Zaku had to hold back a sigh. He just wanted his Cherry back! Not only was she his woman and beautiful, but she had earned him so much money.

Sasuke's fists clenched at the sickening smirk that was being sent to Sakura, but just as Zaku went to open his mouth, he spoke. "Leave before I make you."

"Make me?" The older man smirked at him before grinning. Screw the plan! This guy was dead. "Do it, emo boy."

Oh how original, Sasuke thought grumpily to himself as he watched Zaku moving towards him and Sakura, at the last second, however, Zaku's expression changed and he shot towards Sakura, earning him a scared yelp from her.

Sasuke lunged.

In a second, Zaku was on his stomach, his face pressed harshly against the wood of Sakura's floor. Sasuke ignored the grunt of pain from the man underneath him as he slammed his foot into the centre of his back, as he tightened his hold on Zaku's arms. That bastard! He had tried using Sakura against him. He had been trying to _hurt Sakura_. Sasuke's upper lip curled once again as he lifted his foot, but before Zaku had the chance to try and get up, he was slamming it down again, revelling in the pained whimper–sounding gasp.

"Don't even think about touching her," Sasuke practically growled, ignoring Sakura as she stared at them, trembling with fear and taking uneasy steps back until she bumped into her vanity, "because I'll kill you before you even have the chance."

"Kill me?" Zaku rasped, finding it difficult to breathe due to the way Sasuke was restraining him. Who would have thought that a brat like him would be so strong? Then again, he was Uchiha Itachi's kid brother. It shouldn't have surprised him. "Why wouldn't I think about touching Cherry? She's my woman!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as the next thing that happened had Sakura screaming and covering her ears, had her squeezing her eyes shut to try and block out the sight and the sound of crunching, cracking noises that seemed to echo around her room. There was a scream of agony, but Sakura couldn't hear it due to her own screaming. She fell to her knees and closed in on herself, trembling as she felt her stomach twisting violently, as she felt as though she was about to throw up.

Sasuke shoved Zaku away from him like the man was a disease, looking down at him with disgust as he removed his foot from his back. There was a twisted look in his dark eyes as he watched Zaku fall to the ground, gasping and spasming with pain due to both of his shoulders being dislocated. Sasuke wasn't so sure, but he thought that perhaps he had broken a bone or two, as well.

The sound of sobbing made him freeze, reminded him that somebody else was in the room, making his eyes widen as Sasuke turned around. The sight of Sakura had his heart racing, had a cold sweat dripping down his back as he moved over to her and as hard as he tried, he couldn't hide the hurt that showed when she flinched away from his touch, when her eyes stayed squeezed shut, her sobs growing in volume and the fists in her own hair grew tighter.

"Sakura, it's me!" he told her in a rushed voice, grabbing her arms and shaking her firmly. "Look at me!"

Her eyes snapped open, but Sakura was still sobbing as she fell against Sasuke, gripping him tightly as she stared over his shoulder with wide eyes.

This was the sight that greeted Mebuki and for the second time in only two days, she felt like her blood had run cold. Sakura was sobbing against Sasuke, who was holding her tightly and trying to comfort her. The man who had come to visit was on the ground, out cold and his arms were in awkward positions, making her eyes snap back over to Sasuke and Sakura. Which one of them had done that to the man? Sakura was strong, yes, but Sasuke was… Mebuki shook her head and rushed to pick up the phone on the bedside table.

Punching in a number, Mebuki moved over to the two teenagers, checking them over as she put the phone to her ear before wrapping her other arm around Sakura, pulling her closer and because Sasuke refused to let go of her, he was also pulled into the embrace.

"Itachi?"

"_Mebuki–san?_"

"Y–Yes, it's me." she whispered, her eyes looking down at the two before her. Sasuke seemed to be in shock, his eyes wide as he stared down at Sakura, who had once again shut her eyes as she sobbed. "Can you… Will you be able to come over? It's an emergency."

She heard something that sounded like he was getting up, though she couldn't be too sure. "_I'm at my office right now, but I'll be there as soon as I can. What happened? Is Sakura okay?"_

Mebuki swallowed hard, shaking a little before she could stop herself from doing so. "I don't know! A man… A man turned up to see her a–and Sasuke's here–"

"_Sasuke is there_?" Itachi's voice sounded less composed now and it was obvious he had started rushing. "_Who was the man?"_

Before she could say anything, the phone was snatched from her hand, but when she looked down, she saw it had only been Sasuke. He still seemed to be stunned by what had happened as he put the phone to his ear, still staring down at Sakura. "Itachi… He said that he knows Sakura… but he didn't call her by her name." There was silence on the other end. "He kept calling her 'Cherry' and… and–"

"_What is his name, Sasuke_?" Itachi demanded and Sasuke closed his eyes as he heard the sound of a car door slamming shut. That meant Itachi would be no longer than half an hour, possibly only fifteen minutes depending on how fast he drove and if there was no traffic.

"Sakura told me that he's called Zaku."

Again, there was nothing but silence and then Sasuke couldn't help but flinch when he heard _Itachi cursing_. His brother _never_ cursed, which meant that whatever or whoever Zaku was, was obviously dangerous. Though, considering how he had tried to attack Sakura, Sasuke had already known that.

"_Where is he now?_"

"He's right behind–"

"Sasuke!" Mebuki gasped, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to look over it. "Zaku's gone!"

And sure enough, the space where Zaku had been laying unconscious was vacant.

The phone dropped from his hand with a loud clatter as he gently pushed Sakura fully into Mebuki's arms, shooting to his feet and rushing out of the room. Wherever Zaku had gone, it couldn't be too far considering the amount of pain the guy had to be in. Sasuke all but kicked doors down as he searched each room, his heart racing as adrenaline shot through his veins. He had to find him! Zaku couldn't get away with what he had done. He had to pay for what he had done to Sakura!

Reaching the top of the stairs, Sasuke's eyes widened as he spotted Zaku limping over to the front door, one of his arms hanging uselessly by his side whilst the other was slowly reaching for the door handle. Within an instant, Sasuke was rushing down the stairs, but just as he got to the bottom, Zaku had managed to open the door and was running out.

Sasuke cursed loudly as he ran after the man, but when Zaku got into the back seat of a car, he knew he had lost him. He glared at the number plate, memorizing the letters and numbers whilst inwardly screaming at himself for not bringing his own car when he had decided to visit Sakura again.

Slamming the front door shut behind him, Sasuke took deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart before he was running back up the stairs, going straight to Sakura's bedroom. It was almost silent in there now except for the sound of Mebuki shushing Sakura and when he finally returned, he moved towards the pair as Mebuki rocked Sakura in her arms, gently brushing the hair out of her eyes.

The moment he was sat down and Mebuki looked over at him, he shook his head, feeling angry that he hadn't been able to stop Zaku from leaving, but even angrier with himself for causing Sakura such distress.

* * *

><p>It felt like only seconds later when Itachi arrived, not bothering to be polite as he let himself in and rushed straight to Sakura's room. When Sasuke had gone after Zaku, Mebuki had told him to just come in, that they were all in Sakura's room.<p>

The sight that welcomed him was one he never wanted to see again. It wasn't the worst sight he had ever seen, but the looks on their faces… Sakura's especially…

As though she could sense him, Sakura's head snapped up and she stumbled away from her mother and Sasuke, clumsily climbing to her feet before rushing over to him. There was a desperation to the way she held onto Itachi, the way she looked up at him with tear–filled eyes and in response, one of his arms wrapped her around her before he was glancing over at Sasuke and Mebuki, who both seemed stunned. He paid no attention to that, though. No, right now they had more important things to worry about.

"What–"

"Zaku." was all Sakura could whisper, her hold tightening. "_Zaku_."

Seeing that she wouldn't be able to tell him much, his eyes went to Mebuki first.

"A man came to visit her." she told him and it was obvious the woman was feeling guilty. "I couldn't stop him from coming into our home, so I tried to warn both Sakura and Sasuke, but he was right behind me. I didn't know his name or who he was, he just kept asking for Sakura, saying they were friends."

"Sakura asked Mebuki to leave the room." Sasuke continued when it seemed like Mebuki couldn't say any more. "It was only when she was gone that Sakura told me who the guy was, that his name is Zaku and that he's one of the men from the two weeks she left home. I told him to leave, but he refused and then went to attack me, only to change his mind and try to attack Sakura, instead." Itachi hadn't failed to notice how Sakura's breathing had stopped, how she was trembling and her hold on him was now bordering on painful. "I stopped him before he could."

At the faintest whimper that came from Sakura, Itachi's eyes narrowed and shot to his brother. "How did you stop him, Sasuke?"

The worst part about it was that he didn't even seem to feel bad for what he did. Yes, Zaku deserved it, but what about Sakura? Couldn't his brother see how much his actions had disturbed her? "I dislocated both his shoulders and possibly broke one or two bones in his arms."

Itachi could only stare at Sasuke. Since when was his little brother so violent? It was… It was not how he wanted Sasuke to grow up. There was a weight in Itachi's chest as the thought of how disappointed their mother would be flitted through his mind. Instead of showing his pain, however, he simply closed his eyes and sighed. "You should not have done that, Sasuke."

"I shouldn't have stopped Zaku from attacking her?" he suddenly demanded and was on his feet in an instant, glaring at Itachi even when Mebuki tried to calm him down, not noticing how Sakura flinched as though she had been struck and tensed in Itachi's arms, though the older Uchiha certainly didn't miss it. "I wasn't just going to stand there and let it happen! He shouldn't–"

"You didn't have to act like such a brute." Itachi snapped, returning the glare tenfold, though dropping it when he saw how much it startled Mebuki. Right now wasn't the time or place to sort Sasuke out – it could wait until later. Right now, they had to focus on Sakura and keeping her safe, since Zaku now knew where she lived. "Did you see the car he left in?" There was no doubt in Itachi's mind that, had Zaku been on foot, Sasuke would have caught him in seconds.

Sasuke gave him an arrogant smirk. "Better. I got the numberplate."

Itachi felt like slapping Sasuke. He really did. "Number–plates are easily changed, Sasuke." When the younger Uchiha's expression dropped, Itachi sighed. "It will be easier to track them and narrow down the search, yes, but we will have to be quick about it or else they could simply change their number plates."

Considering who Zaku worked for, it wouldn't surprise Itachi if they had a trunk full of them for their illegal business. In fact, it wouldn't surprise him if they changed cars.

"A silver Mercedes." Sasuke muttered, glaring down at the ground. As he continued with his description with Mebuki writing it all down just in case, Itachi felt as though his blood was boiling.

"Uzumaki Karin's car."

* * *

><p>They were yelling, now, Sakura noted numbly as she sat alone on her bed. Also, since discovering it had been Karin's car, the three of them had gone downstairs, though not before Mebuki had told Sakura to try and get some rest and that she would be up to check on her soon.<p>

Sakura had given up long ago trying to figure out what Karin's problem was with her. It was obvious it went a little – _way_ – deeper than just jealousy of how close she and Sasuke were, but Sakura couldn't think of any other reason why the girl would hate her so much. What had she ever done to deserve all of this?

Out of all of them, it seemed Sasuke was yelling the loudest. She was trying to ignore them and not pay any attention to them, but his words were the loudest. The only person who seemed to be calm – though was slowly losing his temper – was Itachi.

They were all discussing where she would be staying, whether or not it would be safe for her parents to continue staying in their home. Mebuki was arguing that she refused to move, especially since this had been their home for so many years (even before Sakura had been born) but Itachi was having none of it. He was saying that yes, he knew just how long they had been living there for, since he had been four years old when they moved in and Mebuki had been his mother's best friend, but despite that, it was just a home whereas their lives could be in danger.

That was the part where Sasuke got involved, demanding to know just who the hell Zaku was and if he was so dangerous, why had he been able to stop him so easily? Itachi ignored Sasuke and then spoke in a much calmer voice, asking Mebuki if Sakura had anywhere else she could stay for the weekend or until they knew it would be safe for her. Sasuke had told them she could stay at their place, as could Mebuki and Kazashi, but Itachi had said no. It was too obvious that _that_ was where they would stay since their families were so close.

It was silent now and had been ever since Mebuki had said only one word, one name.

Gaara.

Sakura was just waiting for Sasuke's explosion of anger, could feel her body preparing itself.

It didn't come.

Had Itachi knocked him out or something? Sakura would have gone to check but… now that Mebuki had mentioned him, she had realised it was past five and was in fact closer to six. Picking up her phone, Sakura pressed his name and tried to calm herself, tried to sound as normal as possible for when he picked up.

"Hey," she spoke as soon as he answered, not even giving him the chance to speak, "do you mind if we stay at your place tonight instead of mine? Something… happened and now my parents aren't going out."

She could hear the confusion in his tone, but also his worry. "_Of course. What happened?_"

"I'll explain later." Sakura told him as she shot out of her seat and darted into her wardrobe, throwing clothes, clean underwear and pyjamas into a bag. She didn't know why she was even bothering with pyjamas since she preferred wearing one of Gaara's shirts, but it was just in case. "How did your meeting go?"

"_It went well_." he seemed to be distracted and Sakura knew that he would be trying to think of what could have happened. "_Temari believes that when I graduate, I will become vice president with little to no problems. The only struggle will be becoming president of the entire company, since the others think I am much too young_."

Sakura hummed, her eyebrows furrowing as she shoved her make up bag, phone charger, toiletries and whatever else she'd need into the bag. "But wasn't Temari sixteen when she took over?"

"_She was seventeen, but she had help from Chiyo–baa and Baki, whereas when I take over, it will be just me."_

"Not just you." Sakura couldn't help but tell him since the way he had said it made it sound so… It made the job sound so _lonely_. "I'll be there for you and I know for a fact that you won't be able to get rid of Temari and Kankuro."

Hearing him chuckle once brought a smile to her face. "_What time should I expect you?"_

"Uh…" Glancing over at her clock as she shoved on a pair of trainers, Sakura bit her lip for a second. "It'll take me about forty five minutes to get to your place if there's traffic, but if not then it should only take me around thirty five minutes."

"_I'll see you then._"

"Bye!"

Hanging up the phone and pushing it into the pocket of her joggers, Sakura looked around her room, trying to think if she needed anything else. There was definitely something she–

Shit.

Her medication.

Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Sakura moved over to her bedroom door, pulling it open as quietly as she possibly could. Yes, it was a little silly to be sneaking around her own home but if she was caught (by Sasuke) then it would be one hell of an awkward conversation and at the moment, she just wasn't ready to talk to him. That look in his eyes… She shuddered and not even bothering to shut her bedroom door, she made her way down the hall, making sure not to step on any creaky floorboards and it was the same with the stairs.

Now that she was downstairs and near the living room door, she could hear them talking, speaking in low voices about her again, though due to her position, they couldn't see her. Knowing that Itachi seemed to have a freaky sixth sense or whatever you would call it, however, Sakura quickly and silently made her way to the kitchen where her medication was kept.

Only to jump a few moments later when Itachi appeared, right when she had been deciding whether or not to take three pills with her (just in case she stayed longer than planned) or just take the bottle.

Placing the tray down beside the sink, Itachi raised an eyebrow at Sakura, noticing how she was avoiding eye contact and instead staring intently down at her medication. He hadn't failed to notice the bag by her feet, either.

"I take it you are going somewhere?"

She nodded.

"May I ask where?"

Slowly, Sakura turned to face him, looking like a child who knew that they were about to be scolded. The sight of her pout reminded him of back when they were children, when her mother would yell at her for one thing or another. "To Gaara's." she told him, her eyes darting to the doorway and immediately, Itachi realised she was _afraid_ of Sasuke hearing. "W–We had plans… you see… and I… I don't want to stay here."

"Sasuke doesn't control you, Sakura." he sighed.

Even though he knew it would hurt Sasuke if he lost Sakura, Itachi knew that his brother had lost her to Gaara a long time ago, probably before Sakura herself had even realised it. Seeing Sasuke happy was all Itachi wanted, but at the cost of others' happiness? His relationship, if one could call it that, with Sakura was not healthy. They didn't talk to each other and sure as hell didn't trust each other. Well, Sakura seemed to trust Sasuke and even though Sasuke knew that Sakura would never intentionally hurt him, he was having trouble trusting her with his heart again. Add Sabaku Gaara to the mix…

It was sad to say, but Sasuke's relationship with Sakura was over the moment Gaara was involved.

Now he just had to wait for the three of them to realise that fact.

He would definitely be there for Sasuke, after all, he was his little brother, but it was probably for the best that the relationship ended. It was more of a strain on them both, anyway.

Itachi wouldn't say any of this, though. Despite being Sakura's friend and Sasuke's brother, it wasn't his place to tell them. They had to figure it out on their own, though he hoped that it wouldn't be too late as it was already going to hurt Sasuke.

"I…"

"Just take the bottle and I will tell Sasuke and your mother that you have gone to–"

"Hinata. Tell him that I've gone to Hinata's. Mom likes her, so she won't ask questions and I can just ring Hinata later, asking her to go with it."

He nodded once, sighing. It felt so wrong lying to his brother. "And once we are alone, I will tell your mother that you have really gone to Gaara–kun's."

The look of relief on her face made his stomach twist and his chest clench.

It seemed Sakura was starting to realise what he had, too.

* * *

><p>It felt like forever until Sakura arrived and the wait was making him anxious, though he tried not to show it. Gaara couldn't help but feel worried about what had happened. Had Sasuke hurt her? Did she–<p>

The sound of the front door opening and closing, of muffled voices, had him shuffling down to the bottom of his bed, only to pause halfway down it when his bedroom door all but slammed open before closing.

Well, she was definitely quick.

Barely even taking the time to drop her bag to the floor, Sakura took Gaara by surprise as she practically jumped him, pushing him down onto the bed as she straddled his hips, as her mouth claimed his in a kiss that had him pulling her closer before rolling them over, had his hands stroking her body as their kiss grew more heated.

He didn't stop her as Sakura's hands pushed his pants and underwear halfway down his legs and in response to her bold move, one of Gaara's hands pulled hers down, too.

His breath was hot against her lips as his fingers moved over her skin, making her shiver beneath him as _her _fingers moved across _his _skin. When her hand finally reached its destination, Gaara's hips bucked ever so slightly and a barely audible grunt escaped him as Sakura slowly dragged her hand up his length which soon grew hard with her touch. In response, he teased her, rubbing in gentle circles that sent sparks of pleasure up her spine, but was nowhere near enough to bring her close to orgasm.

"Gaara," she whispered breathlessly, "stop teasing me!"

Gaara smirked and nipped at her ear playfully as he felt her squirm, her hips rocking against his hand as she tried to add more pressure. Just as he was about to tell her that _she_ was the tease, Sakura tightened her hold on his length, but made no move to continue moving, even when his own hips bucked against her hold. Growling, Gaara slipped a single finger into her silky folds, his smirk returning at her shiver and how her eyes slid shut.

They were teasing each other and driving the other wild, but they would be lying if they said that they didn't enjoy every single moment of it.

Once again, Sakura's hold tightened before she gave him a good, firm pull, causing Gaara's eyes to close as his breath left him and washed over Sakura. She was smirking, but he soon wiped the smirk off her face by adding another finger and then, torturously slowly, he moved them within her, loving the way her head turned to the side on his pillow and her hair fanned out around her face, his name falling from her lips in a sensual sigh. It wasn't long until she was complaining about how slowly he was thrusting his fingers, though, but Gaara refused to quicken them until she continued, which she did the moment she realised.

However, it was then that something occurred to him.

Sakura was shaking, but not with pleasure and all of this… it had been way too sudden. Something had happened and she was trying to block it out. But what could have happened?

"Sakura, stop…" he told her as he pulled his fingers back to him and out of her.

She flashed him what was supposed to be a seductive smile, but the tremble in her bottom lip, the tears filling her eyes, ruined the effect. In an instant, Gaara was prying her hand from him and pulling his clothing back into place and when she made no move to do the same, he fixed hers, too. What could have happened to make her look so… so torn and in pain? Just as he went to pull Sakura against him, she sat up on her knees and gave another seductive smirk (this one much more effective now that she wasn't close to tears), but it was too late. Gaara had seen the look in her eyes and there was nothing arousing about it.

"What happened?"

For a moment, the torn look returned until she shut her eyes and closed the distance between them by straddling him. He made no move to push her away but was wary of her taking it the wrong way, so, when she attempted to roll her hips against his, Gaara grabbed her hips, not allowing her to move and realising this, a single tear slipped down her cheek, stunning him. "Make me forget."

What? There was an unsettling feeling in his stomach at the tone in her voice. Sakura sounded utterly defeated and he didn't like it, _at all_. "Forget what?"

"Everything." she whispered, shaking ever so slightly. "_Everything_. Please, Gaara. Make me forget! I don't… I don't want to remember."

His eyes flashed dangerously. The only reason he could think of for her being so upset was that a certain Uchiha had something to do with it and oh God, if he did, Gaara was going to beat the shit out of him and then possibly murder him, depending on how badly he hurt her. "Did Sasuke hurt you, Sakura?"

"N–No." No matter how hard she tried to stop it, there was a tremble in her voice, one that told Gaara she was lying. "He didn't hurt me…"

"Don't lie to me, Sakura. _What happened_?"

It was like she suddenly just… broke. Sakura was sobbing loudly against him, her entire body shaking almost violently as she fisted her hands in her own hair, as her eyes squeezed shut and she closed in on herself, but not before he saw the look in them: she was terrified and torn. "I–I don't know…" Her breathing was harsh and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't calm herself down. "Sasuke… Sasuke didn't hurt me… he was… protecting me."

Gaara grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, his eyes narrowing dangerously when she kept hers shut. "What do you mean he protected you? Why did you need protecting?"

Another loud sob tore through her, but Gaara didn't care that his siblings might hear her. Yes, they'd probably jump to the wrong conclusions knowing them, but he really didn't care. If they even dared to try and enter his room when Sakura needed him, he'd kick them straight back out, _literally_.

"He came back." Sakura sobbed, her eyes opening to look at Gaara desperately. It was a desperation that he had seen in them before and it was like his body was preparing itself for her words. "Z–Zaku came back and he… he tried to attack me, but Sasuke… Sasuke got him first and… Oh God, it was awful! I can… I can still see the look in Sasuke's eyes…" Her trembling increased and even though he felt numb with shock, Gaara held her tightly. "I can still see him… Gaara, Sasuke _broke _Zaku's arms and shoulders like it was _nothing_! I can still hear the…"

It looked for a moment like Sakura was going to be sick, but even as he loosened his hold so that she could run to the bathroom if she needed to, she didn't leave.

Zaku had found her? How was that even possible? How the hell did he know where she lived? Had he seen her one day and followed her home, or had Sakura once told him about where she lived without meaning to? His hold on her tightened and despite how his actions had disturbed her, Gaara was grateful that Sasuke had been there, he truly was. Yes, the redhead wished that he hadn't fought with Zaku in front of her, at least not so brutally, but there was nothing that could be done about that now and Gaara knew all about acting without thinking. He knew all about being blinded by anger and hatred.

"I won't let him hurt you." Gaara practically growled, his thoughts turning vicious at the thought of Zaku returning when she was alone in the house. Was that why she had wanted to stay at his place instead of hers?

Sakura looked at him with that same desperation. "Make me forget, _please_."

He shook his head. "Sex isn't the answer, Sakura."

The way she smiled was bitter, making his chest ache. "For me, it is. It always has been. Did you know… Did you know you're the only guy I've been romantically involved with that hasn't expected sex from me?" Sakura closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his. "Naruto… No, we weren't together and it had definitely been a one–time thing, but that had started and ended with sex. Sasuke… Our relationship, if you can even call it that, is only sex. Never, _never_, has he _ever_ told me that he cares for me. I don't even know why I kept going back to him." she took a shaky breath. "And then… T–There was Zaku a–and–"

"You weren't willing." Gaara reminded her.

She simply shrugged, looking absolutely exhausted. "It was still sex."

It was settled.

After torturing him, Gaara was going to kill Zaku.

How dare he do this to Sakura? How dare he turn up at her house and try to attack her again? If it wasn't for Sasuke being there… Gaara didn't even want to think about what could have happened. And what about now? How could he show Sakura that she didn't need sex to forget about what had happened, that there were other ways? No. There weren't any other ways. It was hard to say or think, but Sakura would never be able to forget about what happened to her. It was always going to be there.

"Sex will only make you forget for a short while."

Her eyes flashed to his, hurt and a little angry. "Why won't you have sex with me? Am I not good enough for you? What's wrong with you? Any other–"

"I'm not any other guy." his voice was firmer now, more serious. "Don't compare me to Uchiha, Sakura. I refuse to fuck you whilst you're in this state and that's not even bringing up the fact that you detach your mind!"

More tears fell as she averted her eyes. The last thing Sakura wanted was for Gaara to be angry with her. "I–I'm sorry. I didn't… I didn't mean to–"

He cut her off with a sigh. "I know, but what I said is the truth and I will stand by it. I'm not going to have sex with you, Sakura and it's not because I think you're not good enough for me."

If anything, she was too good for him and as much as he wanted to be with her that way, he refused to hurt her any more than what she was already hurting. Hell, he refused to hurt her at all!

The look in her teary eyes softened as she looked back at him, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she raised a hand and ran it through his hair. "What did I do to deserve you?" It was almost as though she was talking to herself and since he had no idea what to say in reply, Gaara simply stayed silent, watching her as she watched him. "After everything… It's… It feels strange that there's still someone who truly cares about me the way I care about them."

Was it strange for her words to hurt him? Even if it was, it wouldn't change the fact that they did. Slowly, as to not give her the wrong idea, his hands moved from her hips and he embraced her, pulling her against his chest as he closed his eyes and sighed. The painful feeling in his chest only increased as the back of his shirt grew wet and she trembled with silent sobs, telling him that Sakura was crying again.

No matter what she had done previously, Sakura didn't deserve to feel such a way, she didn't deserve to suffer the way she was. If he could take all of her pain away, Gaara knew that he would do it in a heartbeat, even if it meant _he_ had to be the one in pain.

Love makes everyone do crazy things, after all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I was going to make you all suffer and be like 'what the hell is going to happen now?!' but I decided to just post the chapter as the next time I post won't be until either Tuesday or Thursday and if not on Thursday, then it won't be for another two or three weeks. I'll try my best, though! **

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	43. Never Feel That Way Again!

**Chapter 4****3 ****– ****Never Feel That Way Again!**

There was a hesitant knock on his bedroom door, making Gaara sigh. It wasn't like he could just get up and answer it because after crying so much, Sakura had exhausted herself and passed out. Holding her was nice, though, even if his left arm _was_ a little numb.

Gaara hesitantly pulled away from her, watching as she huffed with annoyance at being moved before turning onto her stomach, practically smothering herself with his pillows. Making sure that Sakura was decent and covering her with a blanket, he got up and out of bed, only glancing down at himself to make sure that he was also decent before opening the door to see who had come to bother him.

Why wasn't he surprised to see Temari? It was… _nice_… that she cared about Sakura, though, he supposed.

"We just ordered some takeout." It was obvious that his sister was making an effort at keeping her voice low, especially as she caught sight of the sleeping Sakura on his bed, which made him grateful. "I just came up to tell you that I got some for you both. It won't be here for another forty–five minutes, but if you still don't want it then, I'll put it in the refrigerator for you both."

He nodded once, though couldn't help but voice his confusion because whilst they had been spending a little time together every now and then, Temari still didn't know Sakura all that well and certainly not enough to know what kinds of food the girl enjoyed. "How did you know what Sakura would want?"

There was suddenly an unsure expression on her face. "Shikamaru is downstairs. We were going to go out tonight, but I couldn't leave after seeing Sakura in the state she had been in and he couldn't, either. Since they were friends, I just asked him what kind of food Sakura liked." Again, she seemed a little unsure as she glanced up at her brother. "Is she okay now?"

How was he supposed to answer that question? If he told her the truth, that no, Sakura was not 'okay now' and probably never would be, then it would cause his sister distress and she would only worry more, meaning she would be more unbearable. However, if he lied and said that, yes, Sakura was fine, then he would be… Well, lying. Gaara had never lied before and he didn't plan on starting now, but…

"Not completely." Before she could say anything else, he continued. "We will come downstairs when it arrives."

She gave a smile, one that looked so very different on her. It was a small one, but he could see the pride in her eyes and it stunned him for a moment. "You're a good person, Gaara and you're turning into an even better young man despite everything."

And just like that, she left.

He blinked once, twice and then a third time before narrowing his eyes in confusion and shutting his door. What had _that_ been about?

Shaking his head and thinking it best to not even bother trying to get into his sister's head (Kankuro had warned him that it was a waste of time and would only give him a headache), Gaara made his way over to the bed, debating on whether or not he should wake Sakura up or leave her to sleep for a little while longer. She had been asleep for three hours already whilst he had slipped in and out of sleep, so should he wake her up? It would probably be best since Sakura needed to eat and so that it wouldn't be too much on her stomach, she would have forty–five minutes to wake up properly. Would that be enough time? It'd be fine if it wasn't, because Temari said she would put some away for them. Gaara was a little hungry, but he decided that he could wait until later if that was what Sakura wanted.

Sitting back down on his bed, Gaara tried to think of the best way to wake her up. From their previous mornings together when Sakura had first woken up, he had learned that she was most definitely not a morning person. No, it wasn't morning and was well into the evening, but it didn't mean that Sakura would–

To hell with it.

"Sakura, wake up." Gaara spoke as he leaned over her, gently shaking her shoulder.

There was a muffled groan, making him smirk to himself, before she was trying to move deeper into his pillows. If he hadn't been who he was, Gaara would have said that it was adorable. Deciding that shaking wasn't the way to wake her up, he readjusted his hold on her and in one, swift movement, he flipped her onto her back, barely dodging the hand that lashed out to punch him in the chest.

"Gaara!" she growled, throwing the same arm over her face. "You're lucky you're hot."

Again, he smirked. "And why is that?"

"Because if you didn't have such a pretty face, I would've rearranged it by now."

Watching her as Sakura groaned and sat up, stretching her arms over her head, Gaara decided that he kind of liked the sight of her when she was sleepy. However, he didn't like the sight of her now. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying so much and her face was tear stained. The only thing he liked about the way she looked right now were her swollen lips, reminding him of the way she had kissed him, of the way he had kissed her.

He quickly forced the thoughts from his mind. Sakura needed him right now so he couldn't think like he was a horny teenager, despite the fact that he was one. Well, he wasn't horny right _now_, it was just that kiss…

Gaara shook his head and looked to Sakura as she covered her mouth and yawned.

"What time is it?"

"Half past nine." Sakura frowned, glancing at his windows before back to him and seeing her confusion, he sighed. "Temari ordered us some food and I thought it best that you have something to eat."

"Oh…" she seemed stunned for a moment, though it was soon replaced by a smile. "That was nice of her."

"We don't have to eat yet if you don't want to," Gaara told her as he once again got out of bed, "but you should eat something. Also, Nara is downstairs."

Looking down at her legs, Sakura bit her lip. She already knew that Shikamaru was downstairs as he had been the one who answered the door to her. Part of her felt bad for acting so rudely, since she had pretty much pushed passed him and all but ran up the stairs, ignoring him as he called after her, asking if she was okay. It had only taken her a single second to know that he could see the broken look in her eyes and in that same second, she had tried to get away from him. Well, since it had worked, it wasn't really trying, was it?

Noticing that Gaara was still waiting for her reply, Sakura glanced back up at him and smiled. "We could both do with some food." she told him. "But… Do I have time to shower first?"

He nodded once. "The food shouldn't be here for another forty minutes."

* * *

><p>It was awkward.<p>

Since Kankuro was out, it was just the four of them as they sat around the table together. Sakura was sat next to Gaara and opposite them sat Shikamaru and Temari. It was silent due to nobody having any idea what to say. The only person who didn't seem bothered by the tense silence, or didn't give any indication of being bothered by it, was Gaara.

Despite her shower, the moment they had gone downstairs, Temari and Shikamaru had both noticed that Sakura had been crying. Even if they hadn't seen the obvious signs, they had heard her. Not word–for–word, of course, as it had just mostly been incoherent sobs. Temari hadn't failed to notice the pained, guilty look in her boyfriend's eyes, how he had lowered his eyes to the ground and fell silent. She hadn't known how to react to that. It was one thing to hear Sakura, who had become what she liked to think as a friend to her, crying so hard and with so much built up pain, but it was completely different when it was Shikamaru who was barely holding it together.

"So," Sakura said a little awkwardly, but when the others looked up to her instantly, she gave them a smile that Gaara knew for a fact was fake, "how do you like working for Itachi, Shikamaru?"

It was the only thing she could think of saying and inwardly, she was thinking of strangling herself, since it was such a boring topic.

"It's troublesome to fit school, work and other things into my day, but it's not too bad."

The look Temari shot him had Sakura giggling behind her hand as she covered her mouth. "What do you mean 'other things'? Nara Shikamaru, I swear…"

"Tch." Shikamaru said to himself when she trailed off, the threat not even needing to be said. He felt a weight slowly lighten from his shoulders when he heard Sakura's laugh, however and when he looked up, he saw that Temari also seemed a little happier hearing it. "I meant school work."

"So I don't even fall into the important category?" she questioned, raising a fine, blonde eyebrow at him.

Sakura bit her lip, still chuckling to herself. "You're digging yourself an even bigger hole, Shikamaru."

His eyes widened slightly as he felt the anger coming from Temari. It was the sort of anger that he couldn't figure out whether it was real anger or just playful banter. However, growing up with somebody as annoying as Ino helped him. "Of course you do. I just meant that I had to work around your schedule _and_ mine so that we could spend time together."

The blonde's eyes narrowed, like she was considering his words whilst Sakura's mouth dropped open, only for her wide eyes to snap up to Gaara's face when he shut it for her with a gentle, yet firm, push of his fingers.

"You better had meant that." Temari grumbled, but shot him a smile to let him know he was off the hook. In response, Shikamaru sighed.

After that, the conversation during dinner was light, although Sakura had to keep pushing Gaara into speaking as he seemed to stay silent a lot, like he wasn't sure how to speak with the rest of them. After dinner, however, things turned awkward once more when Temari asked a certain question. It hadn't been asked to make things awkward as Sakura could see how genuinely worried she was by the look in her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

How was she feeling? For a moment, Sakura was silent as the question continued to repeat itself in her mind. Honestly? She had no fucking idea how she was feeling. She was trying her best not to think of Sasuke as just thinking of his name brought back the memories of him slamming his foot into Zaku's back, of him breaking Zaku's–

She shoved the thoughts out of her mind immediately because, to be honest, Sakura wasn't in the mood for throwing up the food she had only just eaten.

"Better." Sakura answered after a couple of minutes, but then quickly smiled and added, "Thanks for asking." Turning her head to look at Shikamaru before anybody could comment that they knew she was lying, Sakura said, "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, Shikamaru. It was rude of me to just… barge in the way I did and ignore you."

He simply shrugged. "It's fine."

Shikamaru didn't blame Sakura for not wanting to talk to him because if it had been the other way around, he wouldn't have wanted to talk to him, either. When she had needed her friends, when she had needed somebody to be there for her and help her, they had all ignored her. Yes, Ino had demanded that he stayed away from Sakura, told him that she was a traitorous, back–stabbing bitch, but he didn't have to. Shikamaru had simply stayed away because he had thought the whole thing was troublesome and that they would be friends again soon enough.

Then, a month went by and Sakura still hadn't returned to school and he found himself feeling guiltier by the day. He shouldn't have just passed it all off as petty school drama, for he had noticed the difference in her – only, Shikamaru would never have guessed that Sakura had a mental illness.

One time, Ino had confided in him, told him that she wished Sakura was still around, for despite everything she had done, she had still been a good listener, had still been there for her when she truly needed a friend. She had cried, then, telling him how guilty she felt for hurting Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, for destroying the seemingly unbreakable friendship that had been between them all. However, when Sakura returned, Ino had cared more about her image. Shikamaru had been able to see under her mask of hatred, however, though he never commented on it. There really was no point in arguing with her.

And then everything was being revealed and they had all learned in the worst way possible what had happened to Sakura, why she had disappeared, why she had acted the way she had. It wasn't her fault and never had been. Yes, a few of her decisions had hurt them, but other than that… Shikamaru lowered his eyes to the table in front of him.

Ino had cried so hard that night and though he would never admit it, he had also shed a few tears. Sakura had been his friend and he cared about his friends. If he wasn't so damn lazy, if he didn't think of everything as troublesome, would he have reached out for her like she had been desperately reaching out for them? As he did everything else, Shikamaru confided in Temari and it had surprised him when she told him that she knew about Sakura's illness. He had been angry at first, but since then, Shikamaru had been so grateful towards Temari and Gaara, especially the latter.

"Sakura."

Her head snapped up as she heard the tone of his voice and Shikamaru didn't fail to notice how Gaara's eyes narrowed a fraction, how he suddenly shot him a warning look. He ignored it. "It won't make up for pushing you away when you needed your friends most, but just know that I am genuinely sorry and if you ever need help, don't feel like you can't come to me." he smirked lazily and was grateful when Temari gave his hand a gentle squeeze under the table. "It'll be troublesome having you yell or rant at me, especially if you start talking with your fists, but as long as it'll make you feel better, I don't care. Just try not to break anything."

Tears filled her eyes no matter how hard she tried to push them away and Sakura could only laugh weakly at his bad joke as she wiped her tears away.

"You must be tired." Temari told her, assessing her silently for a moment before speaking. "But, if you feel up to it, we were planning on watching a couple of movies for a while if you both want to join us?"

Sakura glanced up at Gaara and no matter how hard he was trying to hide the look in his eyes, she could see that he didn't really want to sit and watch movies with his sister and her boyfriend. It almost made her laugh. "Maybe some other time." she told them both as she turned back to them. "Today has really tired me out and I could do with a couple more hours of sleep."

"Goodnight." The blonde called after Sakura and Gaara once they left before turning back to Shikamaru and giving him a chaste kiss. "I think she needed to hear that."

He nodded once, knowing exactly what Temari meant as he hadn't failed to notice the look that had filled Sakura's eyes, how her tears had not been of sadness, but of happiness and gratefulness.

* * *

><p>"I never thanked you."<p>

Sakura lifted herself onto her elbows, looking down at Gaara even as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. She frowned. "Thanked me? Why do _you_ need to thank _me_?"

It wasn't said in a condescending way. "Even though they had all seen, _heard_, your confession to me, you acted like my confession to you was more important, more–"

"Don't." she shook her head. "Your confession was, _is_, important, Gaara. Don't you get it? I stopped them from hearing your confession because I love you. I didn't…" Sakura sighed, but didn't avoid eye contact when his suddenly snapped to hers – icy blue fixed on apple green. "Those people were once my friends so in a way, they deserved to know why I acted, or still act, the way I do _and _did. They deserved to know why I treated them so badly. As for you… They've always ignored you and treated you like you're nothing!" Gaara's hand moved to her side where he soothingly traced small patterns when he saw how much the way he had been treated affected her. "They didn't deserve to hear your story! They don't… They don't deserve to get to know you – _the real you_. Not the scary, look–at–me–the–wrong–way–and–I'll–kill–you, guy. The guy you are underneath." Her hand was softly stroking his chest now as she looked down at him with genuine, tender love. "The guy who has always been there for me, the one who _smiles_ at me and looks at me like I'm… like I'm a person, like I matter." Then, with a smirk, she added, "The one who rolls his eyes with what looks like annoyance when I tease him or send him kissy faces, but is in fact actually trying not to smile."

Glancing at him through her lashes, she raised a delicate eyebrow. "I can keep going, if you want." When he huffed with amusement, Sakura smiled and her smile only grew at the warmth in his eyes. "What I'm saying is that after all this time, after the way they've treated you, why should they be allowed to know something so private about you, something you don't want them to know? I know I haven't…" she frowned, averting her eyes. "I know I haven't always been there for you or acknowledged you… but… in a way, I'm kind of glad that I didn't. If I had, back then, I know for a fact that I would have messed everything up and hurt you and the thought of hurting you makes me feel sick."

The look she gave him as her eyes snapped up to his face stunned him. It was a fierce, determined look. "Now, however, the only thing that's going to make me go away is if you tell me to." she smirked, leaning closer until her lips were brushing against his. "And even then, I'm still not going to leave you alone. I know that pain and I know it's the worst kind of pain imaginable." Looking into his eyes once again, she gave him a serious, genuine look that held a promise, a vow. "I promise that I will _never_ allow you to feel that way again."

He pulled her to him, his lips crushing against hers and telling her things he could never say, words that would never form on his lips. This feeling in his chest… it was warm and made him feel content and the feeling in his stomach, a fluttering that made him almost giddy. What was it? As Gaara rolled them over, as his hands found hers and their fingers entwined, as he looked down at the beautiful sight that welcomed him, the look in her eyes, he figured out what it was.

Love.

It was almost instinctual how his hand twitched and tried to move up to his forehead, to feel the mark, the word, he knew was there. But it seemed by that simple twitch of his hand, Sakura knew exactly what he was thinking as she pulled one of her hands free of his and lifted it, brushing aside his bangs and tracing the lines that made up the kanji. It was the first time she had touched it and Gaara tried his best to ignore her sudden frown.

"It's not a tattoo."

Slowly, his eyes found hers and he shook his head.

"Gaara." The way she said it made her sound breathless and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see her tears. "Look at me. _Please_?" Reluctantly, he did so and was surprised to find no tears there, just gentle understanding. "What happened?"

It was like she had cast a spell on him or given him a truth serum because, just like that, he told her everything she didn't already know. He told her about his childhood, about how his uncle Yashamaru had come to live with them. How Yashamaru had acted like his friend, had earned his trust and had told him all about love and how it helped to heal broken hearts. Gaara whispered to her then, telling her that he had thought Yashamaru had loved him and how, for a while, the pain of loneliness had eased up, only to be savagely ripped away from him one day, on his seventh birthday, when Yashamaru betrayed him and told Gaara something that had made him snap.

His mother never loved him.

Nobody will ever love him.

He was a monster who had murdered his own mother and she had died cursing him.

And then it was like everything came crashing down on him all at once as he was suddenly doing something he hadn't in years. He was crying. And Sakura was on her knees in an instant and pulling him to her tightly, holding him in her arms, letting him cry against her as she gently rocked them back and forth. She held him until his sobs slowly quietened and the tears stopped falling, until his breathing was back to normal and even though she didn't expect him to continue, he did. Gaara told her about carving the kanji for love into his own forehead, how he had grown to despise the world and everyone in it. How, if it wasn't for his siblings, he would have killed Yashamaru and himself a hundred times over by now. She didn't ask what happened to Yashamaru, but he told her that, like his father, his uncle had also disappeared and they hadn't seen him since. It was also after Yashamaru left that his father grew more vicious, more brutal.

Gaara fell asleep in Sakura's arms not long after, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his chest as she continued to hold him, to whisper in his ear that he mattered, that she loved him no matter what.

If his face hadn't been pressed against her neck, if she had been able to see his lips moving and his voice hadn't been so hoarse that when he spoke, he didn't make a sound, then she would have seen or heard the three words that fell unknowingly from his lips.

_I love you_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I managed to update! I've updated today because, tomorrow, I won't have time to do it.  
><strong>

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	44. I Can't Hurt Either Of Them

**Chapter 44 – I Can't Hurt Either Of Them**

She had stayed at the Sabaku home for the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday night, Gaara had contacted Mebuki and told her to bring Sakura's school things. He had also told her that until they knew for sure that Zaku would not be returning, she would be staying with him. Mebuki had argued, of course, and told him that Sakura would be safe in her own home.

He had ended the argument by reminding her of what had happened, how she hadn't been able to stop Zaku from entering her own home and trying to attack Sakura.

It had been harsh of him, Gaara knew that because not only did Mebuki look stunned by his words, but so had Sakura and his older sister. Temari had then spoken, telling Mebuki that she was sorry for her brother's blunt words, that he didn't mean anything by them, but Mebuki had then gone on to surprise them further by telling her that no, Gaara was right. She _hadn't_ been able to stop Zaku and if Sasuke hadn't been there, it could have been so much worse.

After that, Mebuki had handed over Sakura's things and, after saying goodbye, she had then left.

And Sakura was pissed.

"Why did you say that to her?" she demanded the moment they were alone, glaring up at Gaara.

"It was the truth."

"You could have worded it differently!"

Gaara gave her a blank look as he emptied one of his drawers so that she could put her stuff in there. It was strange. On movies and television shows and even in books, people said that doing something like this was a big step, but Gaara didn't think that it was. It simply felt like he was letting her use one of his drawers. Maybe he just didn't understand it fully? Or maybe he was too young?

Sitting down on the edge of his bed, he watched as Sakura carefully folded her clothing, as she shoved her underwear into one side of the drawer before placing the folded clothes beside them. She seemed nervous of him seeing her underwear – another thing he didn't understand. He had seen her wearing nothing but them quite a few times (Gaara wouldn't tell her, though he was certain she already knew that he rather liked one of her matching sets – the crimson one with black lace) and Sakura hadn't seemed to mind. Why was it different when she wasn't wearing them?

He immediately cut off that train of thought.

He had worded his thoughts wrong and now had an image in his head that he shouldn't be seeing.

Great.

If Sakura noticed Gaara's sudden tension, she didn't say anything. In all honesty, she _hadn't _noticed – she was too annoyed. Her mother already blame herself for so many things that had happened and it worried Sakura that Mebuki might blame Zaku's visit on herself. They all knew that if she had been able to, Zaku wouldn't have been able to step a foot into the house. But that wasn't what she was thinking about. Sakura was thinking about what had happened after. How disturbed she had been and how hysterical. Even Mebuki hadn't been able to calm her down. Her mother would blame that on herself. Because she couldn't calm her own daughter down, she would question herself.

Slowly, Sakura came to a stop in unfolding her clothes and refolding them. She wasn't even sure what she was doing, in all honesty. Seeing what clothes her mother had brought her? Wanting to make sure they were folded just right? Placing down the pair of jeans her mother had packed, Sakura sighed, trying to sort her thoughts out.

She was worried, scared, confused and annoyed. But… She was also grateful, happy and most of all, she felt safe. Gaara had only been thinking of what was best for her and even though she was still angry with him for speaking to her mother in such a way, Sakura knew that she shouldn't be (not entirely, anyway). After all, she had said much worse to her before! Not only that, but Gaara's words had made her mother see sense.

"Sakura?"

"I'm fine. I just…" Sakura sighed as Gaara knelt down beside her. "I'm sorry for being mad."

"It has been a stressful weekend for you." he said simply. "What do you usually do when you feel stressed?"

Sakura was silent for a moment, but then pulled a face. "I used to shop a lot, but Tsunade–sama said that I was 'recklessly spending money that wasn't even mine'." Like she could talk! Sakura had heard all about her gambling addiction.

Gaara was immediately reminded of the ridiculous amount of clothes she had, the shoes, the lingerie, the movies and DVD box–sets, music, manga, books. Maybe Tsunade was right, because Gaara hadn't seen Sakura wear, watch, listen to or read half of the stuff she had bought.

"Then why don't you–"

"Set myself a budget?" Sakura quickly interrupted him with a raised eyebrow before shaking her head and sighing. "I tried that and it doesn't work. If I see something I think I want, I buy it without a second thought. You think my room is full of junk now? You should have seen it before."

With the look on her face, Gaara was certain that he didn't want to.

"I managed to talk my mom into letting me keep at least half the stuff I bought, but she made me give the rest to charity."

An image suddenly came to Gaara's mind. Mebuki and Sakura fighting over her things, the former trying to leave the room with them whilst Sakura was clinging onto her leg, trying to stop her but instead being dragged across the floor. To say it was an amusing thought would be an understatement, but Gaara hid his amusement well, knowing that it would probably annoy Sakura.

Gaara glanced down at Sakura. He wasn't big on shopping – he absolutely hated it. Temari had to get him measured a couple of times a year and buy his clothes for him because he hated it that much (he hated being measured, too, but it was better than going to the mall). It didn't matter to him. He simply told her to buy dark, basic clothing and none of the fancy shit some of the 'pretty boys' wear. Though, after the whole robe incident with the kanji on the back, Gaara was certain Kankuro had started to buy his clothes for him. Again, it didn't matter to him. However, if Sakura needed something to calm her down…

The things he did for her.

Inwardly grimacing at just the thought of going to the crowded, loud and stinking mall, Gaara kept his face and voice neutral as he said, "I will make sure you stick to your budget."

"_You_'d take me shopping?" It didn't sound like a question. Her voice was too flat. Gaara didn't miss the disbelieving tone in her voice and the way her eyebrows lifted. "You. Sabaku Gaara. _You_ would take me shopping?"

He rolled his eyes. Why was she making it seem bigger than what it was? "Yes."

Sakura shook her head, smiling to herself. "Itachi tried it before and I managed to talk him into letting me spend–"

"I won't let you."

It was the tone of his voice that made her stop before looking up at him and seeing his serious expression, Sakura blinked. "Really?"

"No more than a hundred."

The way she winced, like he had just told her extremely bad news, was comical.

* * *

><p>They didn't go to school on Monday, using the excuse that Sakura was feeling stressed and unwell. Gaara had been unsure about it, not wanting to use her illness as a way to skip school, but she had simply shrugged, saying it didn't matter to her. It seemed Kakashi and Sarutobi had been informed about what happened over the weekend because, when Temari had called in (since she was Gaara's guardian and sister), they hadn't objected to him staying with Sakura as long as they both caught up on the work they missed.<p>

So now here they were sitting in a café at the mall. Sakura preferred the other one she visited often, but this one was fine, too. Fortunately for Gaara, the mall wasn't as packed as it was on the weekends due to people being at work, teens and kids being at school and whatnot. Well, those who weren't skipping school like they were weren't there.

He was treating her to lunch. Gaara hadn't offered it in a sweet way, he just told her to pick whatever she wanted and paid for it without another word. It still made her smile though. Now, if only she could talk him into letting her spend more than a hundred because there was no way she was going to get far with just that…

* * *

><p>Nope.<p>

He wasn't budging an inch.

Sakura had spent over half of her money already. She had tried asking him and hinting at it, but Gaara had simply given her a blank stare. Mental note: never ask Gaara to take her shopping again. Well, he had offered, but big difference! Damn it. There were some really nice dresses but she couldn't even afford one with the money she had left.

As they left the store, Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him. Gaara had bought a few items that she had picked out, saying that they would suit him, but didn't spend nearly as much as what she wanted to spend on herself. Even Itachi would have given in by the smallest amount by now! How long had it been since they arrived, three, maybe four hours?

Just as Sakura opened her mouth to say something, a group caught her eye. There were about seven of them altogether and they weren't much older than her and Gaara. They were all dressed similarly but at the same time, nothing alike. It was kind of like one style, yet different outfits. Sakura had to stop herself from pulling a face at the outfit one of the girls was wearing. She wasn't trying to be bitchy or anything, but really? Trainers with a floral dress and ripped tights? Ino would have flipped, screaming at them '_what the hell is wrong with you_'. Noticing how she and Gaara seemed to have caught their eye, she moved closer to him as nonchalantly as possible.

However, it seemed Gaara still noticed that she was nervous as he glanced down at her curiously. "Sakura?"

"They're watching us." was all she said.

Gaara's expression emptied as his eyes moved in the direction Sakura was avoiding looking at. She was right. They _were_ watching them. Well, only three or four of them were. All guys, too. Before he even realised what he was doing, Gaara grabbed Sakura's hand with his free one, suddenly wishing he had told her to wear jeans and a baggy shirt. Right now, Sakura was wearing a casual, long–sleeved dress and even though it had a high neckline, it was still short. When he had first seen her in it, Gaara had thought she looked beautiful, but now? No. She still looked beautiful of course, but that dress was way too short.

It was at that moment that he realised he was getting possessive. Wait. Was he being possessive or protective? Most likely the former, but Gaara was going to pretend it was the latter, especially since Sakura had just given him a grateful smile.

"You know," she spoke up, trying her best to ignore the group watching them, "I kind of like it when you get possessive."

Okay, so maybe she _did _know that he wasn't just being protective.

"But if you really want to prove to them that they can't have me–"

She was cut off as Gaara's lips suddenly claimed hers and he smirked when she giggled into the kiss.

* * *

><p>"So you're back."<p>

Sasuke merely glanced at the blond standing before him.

"Oi, Sasuke, don't ignore me!" Naruto growled with annoyance and stopped the Uchiha from continuing on his way to class. "I know where you've been and I know why, but why the hell did it take so long to sort your thoughts out? I mean, have you even visited Sakura–chan yet? Or at least called her?"

This time, when Sasuke's eyes hardened with a glare, Naruto shut himself up immediately. "I went to visit her twice." Sasuke told him and the blond tried to ignore the fact that his fists were clenching and unclenching. As much as he hated to show it, Sasuke's anger problems often intimidated him. "The first time was when she had just returned from a session with Tsunade and…" he shook his head and his left eye twitched ever so slightly. Naruto didn't need to know the details. "The second time I went, a man turned up not long after I did and demanded to see Sakura."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he glanced around him, making sure that nobody was on the corridor with them. "And what happened? Did you get rid of him? He didn't hurt her, did he?"

"Mebuki tried to tell him to leave, but he barged passed her and followed her up to Sakura's room where she tried to warn us about him." It was taking everything in Sasuke not to start pacing like Naruto already had. "Sakura told her to leave and when Mebuki was gone, she told me that the guy was someone she knew from the two weeks she left home."

He came to an abrupt halt, his eyes widening.

"Zaku, the man, tried to attack Sakura."

"But you stopped him, right?" When he received no answer, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's upper arms, shaking him. "You stopped him from hurting Sakura–chan, didn't you?"

Slapping the hands away from him (with more force than necessary) like Naruto was diseased, Sasuke's upper lip curled. "Of course I stopped him! But…" he grimaced, remembering how he had acted and what he had done. Itachi had spoken to him afterwards, told him that he shouldn't have done what he did because of the effect it had on Sakura. And as usual, Itachi was right. "I shouldn't have done what I did. Sakura won't talk… She left home again and said she went to stay at Hyuuga Hinata's."

"What did you do to him?"

"I dislocated his shoulders and might have broke a bone or two in his arms. I might have done damage to his spine too, but Zaku seemed fine when he was running away."

If it wasn't for the look in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto would never have noticed that he felt bad for what he did. No, Sasuke didn't feel bad for injuring Zaku, but he felt bad that Sakura had been there to see it.

"You don't believe she's at Hinata's place, do you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Hinata is here today, but Sakura isn't."

Naruto didn't break eye contact for a second. "And neither is Gaara."

"It's not safe for her to be in her own home." Sasuke continued like Naruto hadn't even spoken. "So she had to leave. Mebuki and Kazashi would have too – and they did for just Saturday night. They returned on Sunday, though, saying they refused to leave their own home." Glancing down the corridor, Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together. "Itachi contacted Shisui and told him everything that happened, but they haven't been able to find Zaku or Karin – she was the one who showed him where Sakura lived." The sound of teeth grinding had him looking up at Naruto and the sight of the angered blond made him pause for a moment before continuing. "Shisui is doing everything he can to find Zaku, but they're saying it's close to impossible. They ditched Karin's car and disappeared."

"Why can't they just leave her alone?" Naruto spat, his fists clenching tightly. "Haven't they hurt her enough already?"

The Uchiha simply shrugged. "They're hardly going to let her go now when she knows so much about them, are they?"

The scary thing was that he was telling the truth.

Zaku would probably never give up on Sakura.

* * *

><p>Forget what she had said earlier about not asking Gaara to take her shopping! No, he hadn't caved in and allowed her to spend more money, but he had spoiled her a little by buying her a bracelet. It was pretty simple, but it was the fact Gaara had bought it for her that made it so special. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't so shallow and superficial that she could be bought or shut up with gifts. It was the thought behind it.<p>

They had been walking by a jewellery store and whilst passing the window, Sakura had pointed out that she used to have a bracelet just like the one on display, but she had lost it and had been pretty gutted about it, too. When she told Gaara, he had, without words, gone into the store and bought it. Sakura hadn't been sure whether she should have laughed or cried when he handed it to her with a blank expression, like it was nothing.

Oh she had so nearly made love to him right there and then.

Because that blank expression had faltered for just a moment and when it had, Sakura had seen how nervous Gaara actually was, how a very faint blush had graced his cheeks. And for a couple of seconds, she had been speechless. Nothing would come out of her mouth! His blush only grew when she had thrown herself at him, kissing him in front of complete strangers – again. Some had catcalled whilst two old women had smiled and said something about "young love".

Sakura had asked him why he bought it, as it couldn't have been cheap (it had been a gift from her grandmother and, not to be rude, but she was a bit of a snob and refused to buy her granddaughter cheap jewellery). All Gaara had replied with was that he wanted to buy it for her. End of discussion. He had made that clear by grabbing her hand and walking away from the store.

And now here they were. Gaara was seated comfortably and leaning back against the sofa with Sakura's head resting on his lap, both reading the books they had bought earlier that day.

This was the kind of thing she could get used to. Just sitting there and relaxing. No stress. No expectations. And whilst Gaara was stroking soothing patterns on her side, pausing every now and then to turn a page, there was nothing sexual about his touch. It made her… happy. But at the same time, it didn't. Gaara wasn't doing anything wrong! It was just that… Well, it made her feel disgusted with herself for how she had been acting. For sleeping with people when things got tough and she wanted to forget all about it. Okay, so she had only willingly slept with Naruto and Sasuke, but that was beside the point! What the hell was she doing with her life?

Closing her eyes for a second, Sakura breathed deeply through her nose before exhaling, forcing herself to forget about those kinds of thoughts as she continued reading her book.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who was stuck in a love triangle, Sakura thought as she turned the page. The book she had bought was the first book of a trilogy, '_The Hunger Games_'. She had bought them all on a whim, really, as she needed something new to read and it looked quite good. Sakura would have stuck with watching Supernatural, but she had left the box–set at home.

Marking her page with a bookmark, Sakura closed the book with a growl. She was already halfway through it, yet Katniss (the main character) was pissing her off. Who the fuck cares about Gale? Team Peeta all the way!

She turned around so that she could look up at Gaara, who was still reading peacefully, though he did pause and look down at her curiously before continuing.

Part of Sakura wondered that, if her life was a book, would there be readers literally screaming at her to pick between Sasuke and Gaara already? Would they feel like she felt right now with Katniss? Sakura narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. No. She was nothing like Katniss! Yes, they were both stuck in love triangles, but at least she wasn't using one of her boys.

Her boys.

Damn it, she sounded like a whore. Or a madam.

For the first time since Saturday, Sakura forced herself to think about Sasuke and tried her best not to shudder when the first thought that came to mind was how he had looked when he attacked Zaku. Well, he hadn't attacked Zaku, he had been defending her, but the look in his eyes… Sakura wasn't sure who Sasuke had been fighting for. Her, or himself? It had been when Zaku claimed her to be 'his woman' that Sasuke did what he did to him. In all honesty, he could have simply kept him pinned until Itachi showed up or until they called the police, called Shisui! Anything would have been better than what he did.

No. That wasn't how she should view Sasuke. Yes, it had been unnecessarily brutal, but at the end of the day, Zaku hadn't been able to lay a finger on her. If Sasuke hadn't been there, a lot worse could have happened.

Other than that… When she thought of Sasuke, the memories of their time together would come to mind. Not recent memories, but memories of when they were younger. Their first kiss, their first time. But not only that. Their friendship, too. Sakura was certain that _that _was what she was most frightened of losing. Having Sasuke as her friend. She would admit that he wasn't the nicest person around and could be quite harsh from time to time, but those who truly knew him like her, Naruto and Itachi, knew that he was a good person, really.

And it was killing her knowing that she was going to hurt him. That she most likely _was_ hurting him.

But… What if she hurt Gaara? After everything he had told her on Saturday night, about Yashamaru… Oh God. What was she going to do? Sakura could tell that Gaara was scared of being betrayed again, of being hurt. She didn't want to hurt him. She couldn't. No. She_ wouldn't_.

Sakura had to stop herself from pressing her hands to her head as she shut her eyes again.

Gaara…

Sasuke…

Why did it have to be so hard?

Maybe, just for now, she should stick to her book and see how that ended. It wouldn't change her decision (because she didn't even have one yet). But maybe, if she finished the trilogy and found out how Katniss decided who to be with, maybe it'd help.

Sakura would never admit it to herself, but the real reason behind her going back to her book was because she just couldn't face the decision right now.

Not when she knew deep down that there _was _no decision to make.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Is it possible to strain your stomach?**

**I was really sick yesterday and now, whenever I cough or laugh or do whatever, my sides and stomach really hurt. Other than that, the concert had been amazing! I decided to go with a different pair of shorts and to be honest, I was glad I did because after the concert, it started raining and me and my friend had to wait outside in the rain for about half an hour for a taxi. Ugh. There was this guy sat behind us and he kept complaining about the opening acts. I swear, my friend came so close to turning around and hitting him! Disrespectful, miserable bastard. He was just jealous that they were going somewhere with their lives!**


	45. I Want To Protect You

**Chapter 45 – I Want To Protect You**

"You never look into your eyes."

Sakura frowned at her reflection before looking up at Gaara's, who was now standing right behind her and staring at her via the mirror. How long had he been there, watching her comb the snarls out of her hair? Yes, Sakura had left the bathroom door wide open but she had thought that Gaara would be downstairs. If she had known he was in his room, she would have shut the door. "What?"

"Your reflection." he told her, seeming confused. "You never look into your eyes."

No matter how hard she tried, Sakura could not hide the way she suddenly stiffened, the way her eyes widened and how it felt as though Gaara's words had actually been a punch to the gut. It did feel that way, if she was being completely honest. She had known for a while now that Gaara was ridiculously observant, but to notice such a thing was… It was a little unnerving.

Seeing the guarded look in her eyes, the slight fear in them, made his gut twist with regret. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned it? But it was too late to back down now. "Why?"

Sakura looked down at the sink before placing down her hairbrush and turning around, facing him. As she did, his hands automatically held onto her hips, just like her hands automatically gripped a hold of his arms and pulled him a step closer, as though she was she was locking him in place. "I…" Her throat suddenly felt tight and Sakura could feel tears threatening to fill her eyes and in response, Gaara's hold tightened. "I don't like my eyes."

They say eyes are the window to a person's soul, Gaara inwardly told himself, remembering a few quote's from his English class. Was that why Sakura didn't like looking into her own eyes? She didn't seem to have a problem looking into his. Well, when she wasn't–

Oh.

When talking about her past, Sakura always refused to make eye contact, instead choosing to look at the floor or the ceiling. Anywhere but another's eyes, including his own. It was like she couldn't unless he forced her to.

_Oh!_

His breath left him in a sigh as his hands moved over her body until Sakura was being held in his arms. It wasn't her eyes that Sakura didn't like. It was what was staring back at her. The pain, humiliation, self–disgust and self–hatred, sadness, shame…_ loneliness_…

Gaara closed his eyes and held her tightly as he heard and felt Sakura take a shaky breath.

"I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No." Sakura shook her head, though didn't pull away to look at him. "You're right. I don't like looking at them. I just… I never thought you'd pick up on something like that."

It wasn't all that hard to pick up on, to be honest. Gaara had noticed it quite a few times when she had been doing her make up and how, even when she was applying mascara and eyeliner, Sakura still somehow refrained from making direct eye contact with her reflection. It must be a skill she picked up because Gaara was certain that every time she did her eye make up, she was going to stab herself in the eye with the brush or pencil. But she never did.

She had been at his house the entire week and they had both gone back to school on Tuesday. It was nice having her around, Gaara thought as he continued to hold her. Even Temari enjoyed having her over. Kankuro didn't really say much about it, though Gaara was certain that he didn't mind, either. He enjoyed waking up to seeing her and feeling her in his arms, how she lowered her guard around him. But most of all, Gaara enjoyed being able to lower _his _guard around her. Around Sakura, he could be himself. He could smile and laugh without her sending him a strange look, wondering if he was quite possibly high. Even his siblings – Kankuro, especially – weren't used to him being that way.

"Come on," Sakura mumbled as she leaned back and kissed his cheek, "we're going to be late for school."

Releasing her, Gaara followed Sakura out of the bathroom, the latter pausing briefly to take her medication, smiling in thanks when Gaara handed her a bottle of water to wash it down with.

And with that, they left.

* * *

><p>School wasn't all that easy today.<p>

For the entire week, Sasuke had kept his distance, seeming to be giving her some time – or most likely waiting for her to make the first move.

Well, Sakura had been about to…

But right at the last minute, Kiba had beaten her to it. Sasuke must not have noticed her because he had then left with the Inuzuka.

The second time she had tried to talk to him, Ino had gotten in the way. Damn it! The third time it happened, Sakura had been close to screaming, though held it back since it had been Hinata who had approached her. As it turned out, her father would be hosting a formal dinner party in a couple of weeks and Hinata had asked if she would like to attend. Sakura wasn't sure as to whether Hinata knew how desperate she looked, like she _needed_ Sakura to be there. The desperation only grew when she had asked if her father would want her there. In the end, however, Sakura had agreed and Hinata had then told her that she could bring a date if she wanted.

"Maybe she wants you there for support."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi. Once again, she was in his office since it was after lunch. Instead of doing work like she usually did, however, she was reading her book. Already she was on the second book of the trilogy and _holy shit_. She hadn't been able to put it down! Gaara had been rather amused when he noticed her little… obsession. Kakashi had been upset. Not _really_ upset, though he had played it up a bit, complaining that _Icha Icha _was by far the best book when Sakura had informed him how great _The Hunger Games _books were. So, to prove a point, she had let him borrow the first book and if he liked it, she would let him borrow the second when she was finished and then the third, too.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, marking her page with her bookmark and closing the book.

He didn't close the book, making Sakura inwardly smirk. Not only had she gotten him into _not _wearing his mask during their sessions, but now he was also hooked onto _The Hunger Games_. At least she wasn't alone, there. "Well, as you've mentioned before, her father is a strict man. Hinata may want you to be there as a friend."

Oh! She was always so shy. Maybe that was why she wanted her to be there. Well, why didn't she say so? Sakura would have agreed in a heartbeat! "Yeah, but…" Sakura grimaced, looking down at the book in her hands. "What if he doesn't approve?"

"You're going as her friend," Kakashi chuckled, "not her date."

"Shut up!" she laughed before continuing. "I mean, I'm not exactly… Well… You know…"

"No," Finally, Kakashi looked away from the book and glanced over at her, "I don't."

Sakura fidgeted and refused to meet his gaze. "I'm not classy… or anything like the sorts of girls and women who will be there. What if I make an idiot of myself and he takes it out on Hinata?"

"Hiashi may be a strict man, but he would never take something out on his daughters that they can't help."

"You know him?" Her eyes widened, but then she blinked. "Wait… Did you just say daughters? As in more than one?"

For a moment, Kakashi was stunned by how alike she and Tsunade were. The older woman had also said something along those lines (not about the Hyuuga family, of course) and had also worn pretty much the same expression. Kakashi just hoped that Sakura wouldn't take after Tsunade's drinking habits. Or the gambling addiction. Nodding, Kakashi said, "Yes. Hinata has a younger sister named Hanabi. And no, I don't personally know Hiashi, but I know someone who does."

Sakura smiled as she sat back on the sofa. "I always wondered if Hinata was an older sister."

"Why?"

"Because she's so sweet!" Sakura told him like it was obvious. "It's like she knows exactly what to say to make you feel reassured and happy."

After nodding once, the two fell silent and went back to their books.

* * *

><p>"Sakura."<p>

Looking up at Gaara, she blinked once. Then twice. "We're here already?"

He nodded but couldn't help smirking down at the book in her hands. "You haven't put that book down in days. Have you been reading it in class, too?"

"…Maybe."

This time, he actually chuckled. "Come on."

Sakura groaned and put her book away, muttering about just getting to a good part. However, that wasn't why she was so reluctant to get out of the car. No, it was because she and Gaara had both decided that Sakura should try and stay at her place tonight. He would be staying with her as she had flatout refused to go back without him.

As much as Gaara liked having her at his place, this was her home. Her parents surely missed her if her mother's phone calls every evening were anything to go by and Gaara knew that Sakura missed her parents. Not only that, but she had to get passed her fear, too, otherwise it would never go away. And if anybody even dared to attack her whilst he was around… Well, it wouldn't end very well for them. However, unlike Sasuke, Gaara wouldn't fight in front of Sakura. Not unless he had no choice and if he didn't, then he most definitely wouldn't be so violent about it and would instead simply go for a pressure point to knock them out or restrain them. After that, the police could have them.

They hadn't told her parents they were staying. Sakura had told him that they wouldn't have to, that they would just be happy to have her back. It was because of that that they had the house to themselves.

However, just as they entered the house and Gaara had been about to shut the front door behind them, a voice called out.

"Oi, Sakura!"

She paused, frowning as she watched Gaara turning around to see who it was. "Is that Kiba?"

Gaara had no idea who Kiba was. "I don't know."

As a brunet jogged his way up to the house, Gaara narrowed his eyes at him and the oversized dog running beside him. It was _huge_! Then, when Kiba finally came to a stop in front of the door, he looked up unsurely at Gaara. "Uh… Gaara, right?" Gaara nodded once. "Can I talk to Sakura?"

Sakura frowned to herself as she looked over at Gaara and nodded once. "Let him in."

"He has a dog with him."

"Really?" A grin broke out on her face as she ran out of the living room and to the front door, only to skid to a halt when she saw that it was most definitely not little Akamaru. "_Holy shit_! That's… _not_ Akamaru."

Kiba smirked and patted the dog on its large head. "Aw, come on, Sakura! You're going to hurt his feelings. Ao isn't that scary."

"Yeah… Sure." she looked warily at the dog before looking back up at Kiba. "Is he house trained?" Kiba nodded once and gave her a sarcastic 'obviously' look. Of course. His mother trained all kinds of dogs, so it shouldn't really surprise her. "Well, come in, then. My parents aren't in right now so just as long as he doesn't make a mess on the rug, they won't care."

Sitting down on the sofa with Gaara by her side, Sakura watched as Kiba sat down on the one opposite them. He made a hand sign to the dog and it, very impressively, sat by his feet without blinking.

"Where's Akamaru?"

Looking up, Kiba patted the dog's head once again. "He's at home. Don't worry, I haven't replaced him." he told her with a wolfish grin and for a moment, Gaara could have sworn that the Inuzuka had fangs. He probably did. "I know how much you love Akamaru."

Sakura sighed wistfully. "I remember when he was just a little puppy. He always loved peeing on Naruto's leg."

Kiba laughed, _loudly_. "That was great. Though, if he tried that now, I think it'd look more like Naruto pissed himself."

"What?"

"Oh…" He seemed to remember something as he frowned. "I forgot you haven't seen him in a while. Ao, stand up." The dog did as he was told, looking up at Kiba and waiting for his next command. "Akamaru's about the same size as this big guy now."

She blinked. "You're kidding."

He smirked proudly. "Nope."

"That's crazy!" Sakura exclaimed. "There's no way little Akamaru is that big!"

"It's true." Kiba shrugged before looking at the clock on the fireplace. "Look, I can't stay long. I have to get back to the kennels soon and help my mom out with a new stray that was brought in. I actually came here to give you something." At her blank look, Kiba once again patted Ao's head as the dog sat back down. "This guy. He's yours."

"What are you talking about, Kiba?" Sakura frowned as she and Gaara looked from the brunet and to the large dog by his legs.

It looked very much like a Rottweiler, but the dog's eyes were… intelligent? Sakura couldn't find the words. It obeyed every single one of Kiba's commands without hesitation and even obeyed her command of sitting down – and it hadn't even been directed to the dog!

"I know," he seemed a little unsure as he spoke, "that I haven't been a good friend to you lately… and I want to make that up to you."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

Kiba rolled his own eyes. "Look man, you don't need to get all possessive, I'm not interested in Sakura that way." At her raised eyebrow, his eyes then widened. "It's not that you're not beautiful, Sakura! It's just that… well, Naruto was in love with you since forever and as much as he annoys me, it wouldn't be fair if I hit on you. Not only that, but you're with this guy, too."

She folded her arms over her chest and sat back against the sofa. "This doesn't explain why you've brought me a dog, Kiba."

Again, the brunet looked a little unsure as he started speaking again. "Like I said, I want to make it up to you, you know, for being a shitty friend? Anyways, I heard Naruto and Sasuke arguing the other day about some guy called Zaku turning up at your house. Sasuke was pretty pissed and from what I could tell, Naruto was even angrier."

"Wait…" Sakura frowned as she looked to and from Kiba and the dog that was sitting obediently by his feet. "Are you telling me that this–"

"I want you to have him, Sakura." Kiba grinned as he patted the dog's side. "His name's Ao and my mom trained him, so he listens to commands. He's more of a protector than a dog you play with, but he's not too bad – gets on with other dogs, too."

Sakura bit her lip. "Kiba… I can't accept something like this."

His grin faded. "Why? He'll be able to look after you!"

"Yes, but what about when it's me looking after _him_?" she questioned, her eyes screaming her uncertainty. "Kiba, my mom still looks after me like I'm a child. How can I possibly look after another, even if Ao is an animal?" At his saddened look, Sakura gave him a soft smile. "I'm really grateful that you're thinking of my safety, but really, you don't need to do something like this for me."

Kiba looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Sakura and she was shocked at how upset he seemed. "Sakura, I was supposed to be your friend. I know we were never that close, not like you and Naruto and Sasuke, but we were still friends. Pity is probably one of the last things you want, so I'm trying my best not to feel that way when it comes to you but the next thing I feel when I think of you is that I want, no, I need to protect you. You were always so kind… well, when you weren't hitting me over the head or yelling at me."

Sakura chuckled. "That was because you're a pervert."

"Look," Kiba said seriously after laughing, "I want you to take Ao. I already know that your mom will let you keep him because I asked Sasuke to ask her."

"Earlier when I saw you both walking off…" He nodded once and Sakura bit her lip, looking up at Gaara before looking back down at Ao. "Does he not already have any owners? I mean, aren't you going to miss him or anything?"

"Of course I'll miss him – he's a great dog! But he's not mine. I found Ao one day when I was out for a run with Akamaru. Akamaru was pretty worried about him and refused to leave him behind – which is strange considering we didn't know him back then." Kiba frowned for a moment before glancing up at her with sad eyes. "Sakura, Ao's previous owners abused and abandoned him."

Her eyes widened.

Using his hand, he motioned for her to come closer and slowly, unsurely, she did so, crouching on the floor as Kiba pointed out a couple of scars to her. "I didn't realise until Hana checked him over. I just thought he'd been in a scrap with another dog. It… It's probably not my place to say, but I thought that he'd be a great companion for you, especially after everything you've been through."

Sakura felt like she was going to cry! Who could abuse animals? Who could abandon them? "He's just like me!" she whispered, stroking Ao's head softly and smiling shakily when he looked at her, tilting his head to the side curiously. He was probably wondering what the hell a weirdo with pink hair was doing in his face, crying, but Sakura didn't move back. And then, he leaned forward and licked her face, making her giggle as she fell backwards.

"See, he likes you!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly.

Gaara watched curiously as the dog continued to try and lick Sakura's face whilst she tried to cover it. He wouldn't let her and simply nudged at her hands out of the way. It wasn't until he moved his nose downwards that she shrieked, pulling her skirt down and backing away, her cheeks reddening as she bumped into Gaara's legs.

It was more than obvious that Kiba was trying to hold back his laugh, especially as Ao tried to continue sniffing her. "Dogs have sensitive noses." he told her with a smirk. "So he can probably smell your period."

Sakura grew even redder as she stood up, glaring at Kiba. Gaara simply decided to stay out of it, though he couldn't help but feel curious as to how Kiba knew such a thing. It was true. Sakura _was_ on her period. She had been up most of the night on Wednesday with stomach cramps and they had only gone away when Temari had given her a painkiller. "How the hell do you know I'm on my period?" she all but screamed at him.

Kiba shrugged and tried his best to ignore the way Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously at him. The glare only got worse, however, with his next sentence. "I remember you once saying to Ino that you wear black denim shorts under your skirt when you're on your period."

"And you remember something like – wait,_ what_? We were in the changing room when we had that conversation! What were you doing in there and why were you listening to–"

"Relax, Sakura!" he laughed, sitting back down as Ao did, too. However, it surprised him when the dog chose to sit by Sakura's feet instead of his own. "I just have a good memory!"

"It's still embarrassing." she pouted. "And you're still a pervert."

Deciding that it was time for a change of topic, Gaara asked, "Are you sure Ao won't attack Sakura?" When Kiba narrowed his eyes at him, he rolled his eyes. "Most dogs that have been abused often attack their new owners when they're frightened or something reminds them of what happened."

It seemed Kiba understood immediately as he nodded. "Ao won't attack her. Like I said, he's more of a guard dog than one you play with but as you've just seen, he's a big softy, too. But you're right, some dogs do snap at their new owners. That's mostly because they're scared, though. Ao's already grown attached to you and I think that he understands what you're going through, in a way. They say dogs are man's best friend.

"He's been at the kennels for about a year now, I think." Kiba told them, looking at Ao once again. "Nobody would take him, though, so we let him stay with us. It wasn't fair to keep him locked in the kennels for so long, especially since all the other dogs were going to homes and he wasn't." He watched as Sakura leaned down and petted him before continuing. "My mom's trained him and he's used to smaller houses, though I think he'd like it here. Just make sure you take him for walks every day. Letting him out in your yard won't work. He needs real exercise."

"I can take him on runs." Sakura said softly but didn't look away from Ao until she looked over at Gaara and then to Kiba when she was met by silence. "I… I don't like going by the woods by myself, so I haven't been able to go running. But maybe I can do it now if I have Ao with me."

Kiba nodded, smiling brightly. "I'm sure he'd love it! And not too many cars go by here, either, so you don't have to worry about them. Oh, but there's one thing that sets him off – well, it sets all dogs off, but I just thought I'd warn you so you don't crap yourself the first time it happens." She glared over in his direction, making him smirk. "Ao gets _very_ territorial. And he's got a pretty loud bark, too. He doesn't like people he doesn't know entering his home and he doesn't like anyone knocking on the door or ringing the bell." With a short whistle, Ao walked over to Kiba, but stayed standing as the brunet pointed to him. "As you can tell, this guy's built for strength more than anything, but he's surprisingly fast, too. So when you're taking him for a walk, be careful, because he'll pull."

Sakura nodded once, absorbing everything into her mind. She could do this! Ao needed her to be able to do this. Right now, however, she just wanted to squeeze his cheeks and kiss him, but she didn't. Most dogs didn't like that and this dog had been abused previously, so she didn't want to piss him off.

"Get used to having him on a harness first before you let him run freely by your side." Kiba told her seriously as he handed it over to her. He knew that he didn't need to explain to her why Ao needed a harness and not an ordinary lead. After all, Sakura was a smart girl. "Your mom's already buying everything else he'll need like food and bowls and whatever. I don't need to tell you how to look after him, do I?" She shook her head. "Good. Well, it was good speaking to you. Don't be a stranger!"

"Wait!" Kiba paused in his turn, looking over his shoulder at her curiously. "How about sometime this weekend you bring Akamaru over? We can… I don't know, take them for a walk or something."

He looked down at Gaara. "Is that okay with you?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I don't control her. Sakura can do what she likes."

It'd be good for her to start speaking with her old friends again, especially if she was going to do what he was certain she was thinking of doing.

Kiba shrugged. "Sure. How about tomorrow? Say… noon?"

Sakura nodded, smiling at him. "Sounds like a plan!"

"See you tomorrow, then." He nodded once at Gaara, patted Ao on the head and left.

She looked down at the dog sitting by her feet, raising a brow as he tilted his head to the side at her. "Where do you sleep?" Gaara smirked. "Not on my bed, that's for sure." Ao simply stared at her, making her sigh. "We'll see what my mom comes back with and if she's bought you a bed, I'll put it in my room for you, but you are _so_ not sleeping in my bed!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I think you all should go and search '**SasuSaku(Naru) - Hurricane**' on YouTube. The username for the person who created the video is '**Sasura**'. Honestly, the video is amazing! I've watched it so many times. Oh! You should also search for '**Think Twice GaaSaku**' by '**iceCandyxx**'.  
><strong>

**Okay, so somebody posted a review saying that my story is unrealistic (the most unrealistic he had ever heard of), despite the fact that he has only read the first chapter, if that. Part of me is simply wondering as to whether 'Fuuton Boss' posted that review so that people would go and check out his story. I'm not one for childishness (okay, maybe I am!) but since you won't reply to my private mail, seriously? Fuuton Boss, your story is about a filler episode where Naruto watched Hinata in the waterfall. He didn't even know it was her and saying that they had to get married because he saw her outline? Okay. And you say that _my_ story is unrealistic. It's kind of sad, really. If I was a big NaruHina fan, I probably would have checked out your story, but to me, you come across as a bitchy and possibly bitter person. I know I'm bitchy too, but I only reply with bitchiness when somebody pisses me off. I don't go around insulting people's stories when they've done nothing wrong to me and it seems like they've spent a lot of time trying to make them more enjoyable for their readers. Yes, I know this story isn't perfect, but I try my best with it and I am so happy with the way it's turning out as it could have been so much worse.**

**Rant over. Ugh!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW :-)  
><strong>

**...unless you're Fuuton Boss.**


	46. Is It True?

**Chapter 4****6 ****– ****Is It True?**

Sakura yelped as something very cold and wet touched her thigh, almost making her smack Gaara in the face as she quickly sat up.

"Sakura?"

At his sleepy voice, Sakura turned to look at Gaara, sighing as she did so. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." she looked down at the new addition in her bed. "It seems somebody already forgot the rules about not sleeping on the bed."

Ao looked just as sleepy as Gaara as he lifted his heavy eyes before huffing and closing them again. Oh, the nerve! Just as she was about to complain, however, Gaara sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her down and back to his chest. "Just leave him for now. You can yell at him in the morning."

She narrowed her eyes at the dog, who she just knew for a fact was laughing at her. Gaara was right, though. It'd be best if she just went back to sleep. Closing her eyes, Sakura relaxed in Gaara's hold.

Only for her eyes to snap open when she felt the bed moving.

It was Ao. Again. But the moment she had opened her eyes, he stopped shuffling, looking up at her with those eyes that were just screaming "what are you looking at?" at her. She breathed calmly. She was calm. Once again, Sakura closed her eyes.

And in response, Ao licked her face in one long lick that had her almost spasming.

Gaara's eyes opened, looking down at Sakura with concern as she shook in his arms, as she squirmed and made strange sounds. It only took him a second to notice Ao laying beside her with his head on her pillow, lazily licking Sakura's face. It was definitely an amusing sight. Well, if he hadn't almost been punched in the face for the second time now.

…And if Sakura wasn't squirming against his groin.

"Maybe he needs the bathroom."

"He should learn to use the toilet then!"

Sakura got up despite her words (not noticing how Gaara suddenly relaxed) and sighed as she pulled on a bathrobe. It wasn't her silk kimono, though. It was just a simple, red, fluffy bathrobe that she usually only wore during winter since she would be going outside. Just as she reached the door handle and Ao had hopped off the bed, Sakura paused and grimaced, turning to look at Gaara, only to blink when she found him right behind her.

"You don't mind coming with me?"

He shook his head silently. Like hell he'd let her out around here without him. Zaku still hadn't been found, yet.

Silently – or as silently as a dog could be on wooden flooring – they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Sakura fumbled around, searching for the light switch and blinked a couple of times to get used to the light. As she did, she moved over to the hooks and grabbed the back door keys, taking only a couple of seconds to open it and as soon as it was open, Ao shot outside and over to the corner of her yard, sniffing here and there.

Leaning back on the counter, Sakura sighed as Gaara stood in front of her and couldn't help but smile as he placed his hands on the counter behind her, one arm on each side of her body. She met him half–way in a tender kiss, raising her hand to hold onto his arm whilst the other stroked his cheek softly. The kiss was languid, but it still had Sakura feeling a little dizzy.

"What was that for?" Sakura asked with a smile when they parted for air.

Gaara pressed his forehead against hers, though kept his eyes closed. "No reason."

Her smile widened as she pressed her lips to his again, her hand moving from his cheek to his hair. The way he moved his lips against hers had her sighing into the kiss, but just as his tongue reached hers, somebody cleared their throat, making Gaara's eyes snap open as he pulled away the second he heard them.

Sakura frowned at Gaara, wanting nothing more than for him to continue kissing her, but then her eyes fell on who had caught them. "Oh… Hi, dad."

"What are you both doing up?" Kazashi asked suspiciously as he moved further into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator, trying to push the image of his daughter kissing her… _friend_… in such a way out of his head.

"Ao needed to use the bathroom."

"Who's – oh. That dog."

Her father didn't particularly like Ao because when he and her mother returned, Ao had started barking and growling and only grew louder when Kazashi kissed Sakura's forehead. In fact, at one point, it had almost looked as though Ao was going to attack her father! Mebuki had instantly fallen in love with Ao and had spoiled him with a large steak.

Instead of replying to him, Sakura turned back around, only to pause when she spotted Ao sitting at the back door, waiting for her to take him back to bed. "Done already?" The dog tilted his head to the side before standing up and making his way over to her, sitting by her feet. "You better be sure, because I'm not getting back out of bed to let you out again."

Kazashi raised a brow at his daughter as he sipped his milk before looking at Gaara. "She talks to it?"

Gaara nodded once, but it was Sakura who replied. "His name is Ao, dad! Not 'it'. He's lovely, so stop being mean!"

"Me? Mean?" he asked with disbelief obvious in his tone. "That thing is spoiled and he's only been here five minutes!"

"And Ao will continue to be spoiled." Sakura said stubbornly, stepping around the dog to shut the back door and lock it. "Kiba said that he was abused and abandoned by his previous owners, so I'm going to make sure that the rest of his life is a long and happy one. If you have a problem with that, Ao will eat you."

Kazashi blinked.

Gaara blinked.

"What?" They asked in unison.

Sakura laughed as she patted Ao's head. "Oh! The looks on your faces."

Her father rolled his eyes and finished his milk. "That's not funny, Sakura. He looks like he _could _eat somebody!"

"He's just jealous that you can get away with being big." Sakura said to Ao, who nudged her hand with his nose in response. She looked up at Kazashi once again and grinned at his pout. "You know I love you really, dad. Anyways, we're going back to bed. Night!"

They made their way upstairs as quietly as possible and when they were in Sakura's room once again, she removed her bathrobe as Gaara got back into her bed and Ao dropped onto his. Throwing the robe onto the ground, she climbed back into bed, all but collapsing on her back, though she couldn't help but smile when Gaara rolled over and leaned over her on his elbows.

Sakura pressed her lips to his softly. "It's a shame my dad interrupted us. I quite liked that kiss."

Gaara smirked at her before kissing her again, though pulled away not long after when the bed shook. "He's on the bed again."

"I know." Sakura whispered against his lips. "But I'll feel bad if I make him sleep on the floor."

He knew this would happen! Sakura was too kind to force Ao to sleep on the floor. Yes, the dog had his own bed, but…

Well, Gaara couldn't blame Ao for wanting to sleep on Sakura's bed. It was ridiculously comfortable.

With that thought, he rolled onto his back and pulled Sakura with him so that she was laying half on his chest. A small smile curved his lips as she snuggled into his side, her left leg entangling with his. The first time she had slept in such a position had stunned him for two reasons. First being that he wasn't really used to being _snuggled_. The second reason being that… Well, Sakura's inner thigh had accidentally brushed against his groin and she had been sleeping in nothing more than her underwear and his nightshirt.

Now, however, after sharing a bed so many times, Gaara was used to it and he actually enjoyed having her so close to him.

Sakura stiffened against him suddenly, making him open his eyes to see what happened and he couldn't help but roll his eyes when he saw Ao with his head on Sakura's pillow.

"He's breathing _right down my neck_." she whispered into his chest and shuddered when Ao once again huffed. It seemed he knew how to annoy her.

Gaara smirked as he turned Sakura around and settled down behind her, pulling her back to his chest. "Better?"

Ao moved forward and snuggled against her front, making Sakura smile. These were her boys, her protectors. "Better."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't mind?"<p>

Gaara looked up at Sakura, secretly wishing she'd wear something different. It wasn't that he was… Okay, so he _was_ being a little possessive, but who could blame him? Sakura was wearing denim shorts that barely even covered her, a long–sleeved button–up shirt that she had decided to leave open and a black vest top underneath it. To go with the outfit, she was wearing a pair of converse but they only seemed to make her legs look longer. Why couldn't she wear those joggers she had worn last weekend? And a hoodie, too. Yes it was starting to become quite warm out but… surely she wouldn't mind being a little sweaty?

Inwardly, Sakura was smirking. She had worn this outfit before, though not in front of Gaara and she kind of liked the results. He couldn't take his eyes off her legs! And now that they were more toned, Sakura was definitely more comfortable with how they looked.

"No."

She sat down on his lap, straddling him and Sakura couldn't help but give him an impish grin when Gaara's breath caught. "I'll ring you when I get back. Do you have another meeting today?"

For a moment, there was nothing more than silence as Gaara's hands smoothed over her thighs until he forced himself to concentrate. "Not until later today."

"Good luck!" Sakura whispered against his lips a second before she kissed him, loving the way he responded immediately by gripping her thighs and deepening the kiss.

Just as her hands found their way into his hair and she arched into him, however, the doorbell rang.

And Sakura almost crapped herself by the sound that followed.

Barking. _Very loud_ barking. Kiba hadn't been joking.

"Damn it." she growled against Gaara's lips.

Kissing him one last time, Sakura hopped off his lap, making her way over to the door and when she did, her eyes narrowed. It looked like she'd have to wrestle Ao to open it. But maybe it'd be less trouble to just shuffle her way in–

Nope. Not going to work.

"Ao," she groaned, "go over to the stairs!"

And just like that, he did, leaving Sakura to stand there in complete silence.

Even Gaara seemed stunned as he stood in the doorway.

Before whoever it was could knock again, Sakura quickly opened the door, shooting wary glances over at Ao. He looked ready to pounce at any moment! Turning back to see who it was, Sakura smiled and couldn't help but laugh as she was knocked to the ground. "Akamaru!"

The white dog continued to lick her face and Sakura was grateful she had decided against wearing makeup. And then, making her laugh even louder, Ao joined in, nudging Akamaru out of the way so that he could get to his owner.

"He's huge!" Sakura exclaimed once she was standing again and looking at Akamaru. Last time she had seen him, he had been tiny! Kiba certainly wouldn't be able to carry him around on his head anymore. Turning around to Gaara, she smiled at him. "What time does your meeting finish?"

"I'm not sure. Some time after six."

Damn, she wanted to kiss him goodbye but she knew he didn't like–

Okay. Sakura _really _liked possessive Gaara.

When they parted, she could see Kiba out of the corner of her eye, could see that he was looking somewhere else with a smirk on his face. Knowing him, Kiba was most likely going to tease the hell out of her later. However, right now, all she could focus on was Gaara and the way he was looking at her. It was like he wanted to lock her away and never let her out again. No! That made him sound creepy. No, the way he was looking at her… It was a look that had never been directed at _her_ before. Sure, Sasuke had been possessive of her before, but nothing like this. This made her feel warm because there was also love in Gaara's eyes.

"I'll see you later." Sakura smiled as she watched Gaara leave.

The moment she turned around to face Kiba, he placed something in her hand, making her pause until she realised it was Ao's harness.

"Try putting it on him."

Sakura turned to face him and narrowed her eyes at Ao, who she was certain was smirking at her. Could dogs smirk? Oh he was definitely challenging her if the way he was staring at her meant anything.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>And a long day it was. It had been nice, though. Ao surprisingly hadn't been much trouble for her and had listened to every single one of her commands. Also, he hadn't pulled once, which surprised Kiba greatly. In fact, it was like Ao could sense her fear of passing the woods because he stayed close by her side as though he was reassuring her that he wouldn't let anything happen.<p>

That was partly the reason why she asked Kiba to join her. He wasn't a serious person and even though it was obvious that he knew what running/walking opposite the woods meant for Sakura, he did what he could to keep her mind off of it. He joked with her, teased her and told her something that had her blinking with surprise.

She had been his first kiss.

Sakura felt so bad for not even remembering, but Kiba didn't seem to mind, saying that the kiss didn't really count since they had both been wasted and she passed out halfway through it. That had made her laugh for a while, though after, Sakura had felt… disgusted with herself. However, Kiba seemed to notice the change in her mood and had challenged her to a race, saying that he and Akamaru were faster than her and Ao.

Even though she hadn't won the race, Kiba had been slightly stunned by how fast she had gotten.

Now, they were on their way back to her place where Kiba's car was. It was around five in the afternoon now and a slight chill was filling the air. Her day out with Kiba had been great! And, for a while, she had almost forgotten why she was so scared of the woods.

_Almost._

That fear returned on their journey back and they reached a certain part. They had just passed by Sasuke's house and even though she knew she was safe with Kiba, Akamaru and Ao, she was still afraid. What if the guy who had attacked her was in the woods right now, watching her? What if he was waiting for her like he had been last time?

"Watch out!" Kiba warned her, motioning for Akamaru to move out of the road.

Sakura quickly did the same with Ao, her eyes frantically searching around her. Had Kiba spotted someone?

"Oi, Sakura–chan!"

Kiba groaned.

Was that Naruto? Sakura looked down the road, blinking a few times as the sun attempted to blind her. When a familiar car came into view with a head of blond hair sticking out of the window, waving madly at her, she grinned. It _was_ Naruto! And… Right next to him in the passenger seat was Sasuke.

Shit.

And to make things just that much better, they were still in the area where she had been attacked, where she had been dragged into the woods. Sakura closed her eyes, trying to breathe calmly despite the fact that her heart was racing. Her boys were here. Kiba was here. The dogs were here. Nobody could hurt her with them around. She was safe.

But damn… It felt so wrong speaking to them where she had been attacked.

As Naruto got out of his car, it seemed Kiba picked up on her mood – or was it because Ao had suddenly moved closer to her, nudging her hands and legs with his nose as though he was comforting her? "Sakura, you okay?"

She swallowed, _hard_. "I'm fine."

Ao whined in disagreement.

"What are you doing out here with _Kiba_?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes at Kiba though they could see that he was joking.

Sasuke got out of the car next and when Kiba and Naruto were too busy arguing, he walked over to Sakura, giving her a small smile. However just as he was about to stand beside her, Ao growled warningly and stood up, glaring up at a stunned Sasuke.

"Ao, relax." Sakura told him, crouching down next to him.

Only to be knocked over once again by both him and Akamaru.

The sound of Kiba and Naruto laughing at her made her grit her teeth, but she couldn't help but laugh when Ao pinned her down and rested his head on her stomach, still glaring up at Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked. Was he being challenged by a _dog_?

Ao huffed.

He _was_!

"Come on. Let me up!" Sakura groaned as she shoved Ao's large head off her and stood up, dusting off her clothes.

Kiba was still laughing at her when he spoke. "That's like the sixth time in the past two days that he's knocked you over. Sure you can handle him?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes playfully. "I can handle _anyone_ and any_thing_." she barely even noticed how all three boys gulped at the lower tone in her voice, at the seductive tone that had _not_ supposed to be there. However, it was gone when she spoke again. "It's just Ao! He was like this last night, too. Every time I tried to get to sleep, he started shaking the bed and licking my face and breathing down my neck! Seriously, I barely got any sleep last night."

"Are you sure it was–"

He was silenced by the glare that was sent his way, knowing the difference between serious glares and playful ones. Whatever he had been about to say, it was obvious that Sakura didn't want him to say it in front of Sasuke. Or was it Naruto? Kiba glanced up at Sasuke, noticing how the Uchiha was glaring down at the ground. Oh boy. Definitely Sasuke.

"So what've you two been up to?" Kiba asked suddenly.

The blond shrugged. "Nothing much. Just training."

"Why are you out here?"

Everyone looked up at Sasuke, who was staring down at Sakura with a serious look. In response, she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Out here. The woods. Why?"

"Hey, come on, man. Ease–"

Kiba was once again silenced by a glare. Though this time, it was from Sasuke.

Sakura glared up at Sasuke. "I'm not a child! And I need to get–"

"Zaku still hasn't been caught!"

"I _know _he hasn't!" They were all silenced by her loud yell. "For fuck sake, Sasuke! I know he hasn't been caught, okay? _I know_ and it terrifies the crap out of me! But I'm not going to waste my life hiding in my bedroom. I need to try and put what happened in the past and get over it!"

He narrowed his eyes. "And does Tsunade agree with what you're doing? The stress you're putting yourself through?" When Sakura said nothing, his fists clenched. "Don't try and hide it! Look at you! You're shaking. You can't stop looking around like you're about to be attacked! Don't put yourself through so much."

Both Naruto and Kiba exchanged surprised looks. Well, only Kiba looked surprised since Naruto had always known that Sasuke cared for Sakura. It was just strange hearing him talk about his feelings. However, Kiba found himself growing annoyed as he glared at Sasuke. How the hell could he yell at her like that? Yes, Kiba had noticed a lot earlier on in the day that Sakura was scared, but he hadn't pointed in out. He hadn't yelled at her for stressing herself out. "She needs to do this, Sasuke." Kiba told him coldly, ignoring Naruto when he tried to make him shut up. "Yeah, it's been tough for her, but look at how well she's doing – or _was_ doing, until you brought it up!"

"How well she's doing?" Sasuke repeated, moving his glare over to Kiba. "You mean, like how she's doing _so well_ that she's currently being watch–"

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto interrupted him, his eyes going wide.

He had told Sasuke about the watch. About the suicide watch. He had thought that, what with Sasuke returning and wanting to help her, he would watch out for her, too. Naruto had no idea that Sasuke would go and yell it out in front of her. Damn it! They had all thought that _he _would have difficulty keeping it from Sakura. None of them believed that Sasuke would. They thought he would find it easiest.

Sakura took a step back, Ao moving in front of her protectively as her eyes widened with shock and fear. "I–I'm being watched?"

Noticing how her eyes were darting around her, Naruto looked down at the ground, feeling so guilty for having to tell her. But… He couldn't just… He couldn't _not_ tell her when she looked so scared, could he? Besides, what was the worst that could happen? Right? "Not like that, Sakura–chan." he mumbled, but when Sakura's eyes snapped to his, wide and filled with fear, Naruto found himself unable to talk.

Her eyes widened even further. "Y–You mean… You mean that…"

When tears filled her eyes, Naruto tried to take a step forward to comfort her, but quickly jumped back when Ao snapped at him, growling rather viciously. He wouldn't even listen when Kiba told him to stand down. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke ran a shaking hand through his hair. He hadn't meant to say it. But… But he was just so angry at her for stressing herself out. For putting herself through so much. He didn't want her to hurt herself if it got too much for her. What else was he supposed to say? "Suicide watch." Sasuke told her, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach when her eyes connected with his, filled with betrayal. "You're under suicide watch, Sakura."

Kiba's eyes widened as he spun to face Sakura. "Suicide watch? Why? She doesn't–"

"You don't know anything, Kiba!" Sasuke snapped at him.

"And you do?" she screamed right back at him just as Kiba had been about to defend himself. "What the hell do you know, Sasuke? You left for a whole month when you found out what happened! You weren't there for me when I needed you to be. _You left_!" Her eyes went to Naruto next. "Who knows about the watch?" When he blinked with confusion, her eyes narrowed. "Since I'm not tied down in a room again, I'm guessing this one is a little different, right? Who knows? _Who knows_?"

"They tied you down?" Sasuke's eyes were wide with shock as his hands started shaking even more.

Sakura snorted, rubbing her eyes as they started to sting because of her tears. "What? You didn't know? Tsunade–sama didn't tell you?" she ignored Naruto as he tried to calm her down. "Normally, when on suicide watch, some patients are completely stripped of their clothing and restrained to a bed in a room filled with guards or orderlies who are to watch their every move."

He paled. "D–Did…"

"No." she snapped. "They couldn't take my clothing since I'm still not eighteen. I'm just a child. Though I had to go through full-body searches." Then, her eyes went back to Naruto. "_Who else knows_?"

"Itachi." Naruto spoke hoarsely, feeling his chest constrict. "My parents… your parents… me… Sasuke… Kakashi–sensei… ero–sennin… Tsunade–baa–chan…" he swallowed hard but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't look away from her eyes. The eyes that were now filled with betrayal. "Sabaku Temari." Her eyes widened as she paled, as she took an unsteady step back. "…Gaara."

And then she was running.

Sakura ignored them all as they yelled for her to come back. The only one by her side was Ao as he refused to be left behind, as he refused to leave her by herself.

All Sakura was aware of as she finally got home was that she was crying. She was sobbing, _wailing._ Slamming the door behind her, she ran her hands through her hair with jerky, stilted movements, trying to calm herself, but nothing would work. And it didn't help as her mother came rushing out to see who had entered.

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

Her eyes snapped to her mother's and Mebuki's eyes widened in response as she saw the betrayal in them. "Is it true?" When she received no answer, Sakura couldn't stop herself from kicking the table by the door over, ignoring the vase that smashed as well as the glass bowl. Ao barked in response and moved even closer to her. "Is it true that I'm on a suicide watch?"

The way Mebuki's eyes widened further was all the answer she needed.

Leaving Ao in the house with her mother, Sakura left once again. She ignored the three boys who had run after her as she got into her car, locking the doors and ignoring them as they banged on the windows and tried to stop her from leaving. She had to know if it was true. Sakura glanced at the time. Six. Gaara should be home by now.

Sakura was speeding out of her drive and on the highway in what seemed like only seconds.

* * *

><p>When she arrived at Gaara's place, he wasn't home. It had been Kankuro who answered the door, seeming rather confused and stunned when he saw the state Sakura was in. Of course, she knew that Kankuro didn't know what had happened to her. He didn't know about the suicide watch.<p>

But damn she wanted to beat the crap out of him.

Somehow, Sakura managed to shove that urge down. It wouldn't help anything if she spoke to Gaara whilst she was feeling the way she was.

However the moment he entered the living room, Sakura could feel her anger growing. Gaara looked just as stunned as Kankuro had been as he shut the door behind him, but before he could ask her what was wrong, she was on her feet and yelling, _screaming_, at him.

"You _promised_!"

He blinked. "What?"

"_You promised_ that you wouldn't let them place me on another suicide watch!" she screamed at him and Gaara had to hold back a flinch when he heard the pain and betrayal in her voice.

"Sakura, I–"

"No! Why the hell should I listen to anything _any of you_ have to say? How do I know that you're not–"

"Shut up and _listen to me_!"

And because she had never heard him shout before, Sakura could only do as he said.

Gaara told her everything about the suicide watch, about how both Kakashi and Tsunade had turned up the day Karin had revealed to the school what had happened to her, how they had told him about the things she did whilst in the psychiatric hospital. Sakura had been too stunned to do anything other than allow him to sit her down and stare at him. Gaara had then gone on to tell her about how he hadn't wanted to keep it from her, but had no other choice because he didn't want to risk her being hurt again.

"They never go away, Sakura." he told her quietly, seriously. "Suicidal tendencies. They're always there and I can't stand the thought of you hurting yourself."

"But you _lied _to me."

He closed his eyes at the sight of her tears. "I know and I'm sorry." Opening his eyes again, he pinned her with a serious look. "But just know that I don't regret it. If it keeps you safe, I will never regret it. I made sure Tsunade knew that if she tried to betray you, if she tried to put you on a watch similar to before, then I would stop her." Of course, Gaara didn't mention how he had no idea how to stop Tsunade. After all, the woman was Sakura's psychiatrist. "I made her swear that she would never put you on that watch again."

Sakura closed her eyes, her lower lip trembling until she bit down on it. "A–And Temari… Does she know that…"

"No. She only knows about you being bipolar and suicidal, unless Shikamaru told her about the tape that was shown at school. I made sure that Kakashi and Tsunade didn't mention anything else."

When Gaara hesitantly reached out for her, Sakura didn't push him away. Instead, she held onto him tightly.

"There isn't… isn't anything else… is there?"

Gaara was silent for a moment, trying to think if there was. But right now, nothing would come to mind. "No."

* * *

><p>She stayed at his place for the night since Gaara had thought she was in an unfit state to drive home. Neither had been able to sleep, though. Sakura had been too upset about what she had found out and Gaara couldn't sleep whilst she was so unhappy. Instead, he did something he would have never thought he'd do. He stayed up all night whispering soft words to her, promising he would never hurt her again.<p>

At first, Gaara hadn't been sure if he was helping as Sakura started to cry again, but after a couple of moments, he had realised that they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of relief. Sakura told him in return that she was scared. She didn't want to be hurt. Physical pain was one thing, but to be hurt emotionally by the people you love was another. Gaara had then told her that he wouldn't allow anybody to ever hurt her physically, emotionally or mentally.

Sakura had calmed down then, allowing him to hold her. His siblings had stepped into the living room at one point to make sure they were okay and see if they needed anything. Even Kankuro seemed slightly worried since it was his first time seeing Sakura when she was upset. After that though, Gaara had taken Sakura upstairs, knowing that she would prefer to have some privacy. Temari had stopped by, handing over some food and a couple of drinks, telling him to make sure Sakura ate something. She also told him that she had called Mebuki to let her know where Sakura was and had been told in response that Sakura hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so she needed to eat soon.

Not much had been eaten, though. Sakura had taken small bites of food but had soon pushed it away, muttering something about it being difficult to swallow.

It occurred to him as he finished his meal, as he took out Sakura's book and handed it to her, holding her as she read it, that he didn't mind looking after her. Yes, there were times when he lost his temper and it could be tiring, but he didn't mind. This was a part of who Sakura was and there was no changing that. She wasn't perfect, but then again…

Neither was he.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - In response to** **'**YouKnow**' ****and anybody else who is feeling confused, I mentioned it either last chapter or the chapter before that this is a love triangle. Sakura doesn't know who she wants to be with yet. Deep down she knows, but she hasn't made her decision yet. It could go either way. I'm not trying to make you guess, so I don't know how I'm doing a bad job. Thank you for pointing it out, though. I wasn't aware that some people were feeling confused as I thought I was making it obvious that Sakura doesn't know who or what she wants right now.**

**Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter, especially '**baby-kitsune9**'. Thank you for the warning and I will keep an eye out for this 'duh' person! Don't listen to idiots like that. They obviously have nothing better to do with their lives if they're harassing people they don't even know and telling them to kill themselves.**

**As for Ao (Sakura's dog), he's going to be quite important to the story now. He won't be in every single chapter, but he's important. Like Sakura said/thought in this chapter and last chapter, he's just like her. They were both abused and whilst Ao had been abandoned by his owners, she had been abandoned by most of her friends. When I picture Ao, I see a large rottweiler and his head comes to about Sakura's hip/stomach. I don't know why, but I love large dogs and I love rottweilers.**

**'**CGinny**' I'm so sorry to hear about your dog!**

**I'm more of a cat person, to be honest. My mum has three cats and I have one. My cat was found on the streets and was almost dead by the time we took him in, but now, a year on, he's completely healthy! I think of him like my baby. Sure, he's a little smelly at times and likes to try and steal my food, but he's adorable. Whenever I'm upset or angry, he's always by my side, head butting me and trying to calm me down. He's got the cutest miaow, too. It's more like a squeak! I am so glad we took him in, now. I love him so much! When I went away, I was only gone for about two days, but apparently he kept looking around for me, miaowing and when I came home, he wouldn't leave me alone. Even now, he's sat right next to me, purring away and trying to steal my ice cream. Such a little shit.  
><strong>

**Anyways, I've gone on long enough!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	47. Cookies

**Chapter 47 – Cookies**

Her mind was a mess.

Who was she supposed to trust and who couldn't she trust? What if she opened up to somebody and they told Tsunade, which would end with her going back to that room? Sakura refused to go back there. She couldn't. Not again.

Gaara had taken her home the day after with Temari following in her car to give him a ride back. About an hour after he had gone, Itachi had arrived and for the first time in a long time, Sakura had nothing to say to him. They had simply sat together in silence until he broke it, telling her that Mebuki had told him about what happened and that he was sorry for not telling her. Like Gaara, however, Itachi told her that he would do it again if it meant keeping her safe.

Her mother had entered the room then and, with an uncertain smile, had handed her a tray filled with food along with one of her pills. Now that Sakura knew about the watch, she noticed how closely everyone was watching her, how she was no longer handed more than one pill each day and how they made sure they saw her swallow it. The bottle holding the rest of her pills had been hidden somewhere the moment she returned from Gaara's and only her parents and Itachi knew where.

Ao hadn't left her side since the moment she returned. According to her mother, he had sat outside her bedroom door all night, whining. Sakura felt so bad for leaving him and, to try and make up for it, she had let him lay in bed with her all day and night. She had cuddled him as though he was a teddy bear and her father had told her when he came upstairs that it was an amusing sight to see such a scary–looking dog acting so soft.

It was Monday now, which meant it was time for school. It was like Sakura was on autopilot as she put on her make up and straightened her hair, as she slipped on her uniform and grabbed her things to leave. Ao had started whining again, but it seemed the sight of her uniform told him that she would be coming back. It must have been because he had lived at Kiba's house. Kiba had told her that Ao was a smart dog, after all. He must have picked up on the fact that when people wore certain clothes, it meant they were only going to be gone for a short while.

Mebuki told her to let Ao out in the yard during the day so that he didn't end up going to the bathroom on her favourite rug. She had tried to argue since she didn't want to risk the chance of him leaving the yard and getting lost, but it didn't work. There was a fence around her yard which would make it close to impossible for Ao to get out unless somebody opened it for him and if they did, then he would attack the intruder.

Before getting in her car, Sakura had made sure that Ao would have plenty of food and water and, thanks to her mother, he also had a heated kennel in case it started to rain or got cold.

Sakura pulled a face because, just as she got in her car, it started raining. She was so tempted to just go back into the house, put on her pyjamas and sit in front of the fire with Ao. But Mebuki had shook her head and told her to go, reminding her that Sakura had missed too much school. Also, Ao's kennel was very big and had a heater, so he wouldn't be caught in the rain unless he actually wanted to be. That dog was spoilt! Hell, Sakura was willing to bet that even _she _could fit in his little dog–home. If she crouched, that was.

Her music was loud as she drove to school and Sakura groaned because just as a good song came on, her school came into view meaning she would have to switch it off. The rain had eased up slightly, but not entirely. It probably would keep raining all day.

She had just gotten out of her car and was about to enter the school building when a head of platinum blonde hair stopped her. Sakura took an unsure step back at the wide–eyed look on Ino's paler than usual face. Something had happened, obviously. Was it strange that Sakura was thinking more about how glad she was to be shielding herself from the rain with an umbrella? Probably.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed with a cheery smile, but Sakura could tell that it was forced. "How about we skip school today? You know, like old times? We can go to the mall and go shopping or something. Your choice!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. Something had _definitely_ happened. "I can't. I've already had too much time off." With that said, Sakura moved to pass her, but just as she went to grab the door handle, Ino caught her wrist. Sakura tried her best to hold back her anger as she took a calming breath and counted to ten. "Let go of me, Ino."

"Please." Her eyes snapped to Ino's at the pleading tone in her voice. "I'm not screwing around with you, Sakura. Don't go in there."

"Why?"

"Because it's going to hurt you." she told her, stepping under the umbrella so that she was no longer standing in the rain. There was no point, though, because Ino was already soaked. "And I don't want to see you get hurt. Not again."

"_Hurry up and take them down!"_

Naruto.

Why was he yelling? Take what down?

Sakura dropped her umbrella and all but ripped the door open as she ran into the building, but as her eyes landed on the corridor, she took a step back. Her eyes were wide as everything seemed to slow down, as Ino ran in, yelling at her to stop, as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face her with a mixture of horror and concern.

There wasn't a single inch of the previous blue walls on show because poster after poster had been plastered to the wall. Some looked as though they had been shredded off, which ended in only half of a single poster being removed as it seemed to rip in half. They must be glued to the walls with a pretty strong glue, Sakura thought numbly.

It was what was on the posters that had her freezing in her place, had her feeling as though she could cry. Or scream. Sakura wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel right now.

On the posters was a bed and along the top of the poster as well as the bottom in fancy writing, was one word, one name.

Cherry.

Sakura stepped closer to one of the posters, her hand shaking as she raised it to touch the poster and see if what she was seeing was really there. It was. The picture had been taken from above so that it would be looking down at the bed, which had black bedding that looked like silk. Sakura knew that it wasn't silk, though. No. Zaku would never waste his money buying such a material. On the black bedding, in a very sensual pose with a very sensual and sultry look on her face…

Was her.

She was wearing absolutely nothing. The only things covering her was her arm across her breasts and her hand covering her most intimate area. A faint blush was across her cheeks, though whether it was just make up or the fact she was touching herself, nobody could tell. Her hair was fanned out around her and if the picture didn't bring up so many bad memories, if they weren't posted all around school, Sakura would have said that the picture was beautiful. It made _her _look beautiful.

But because it _did _bring up bad memories, because it _was _posted around school, all Sakura could see was her naked and touching herself. There was nothing beautiful about it. It made her feel sick.

Suddenly, she was clawing at the posters, tears pouring down her cheeks as she desperately tried to take them down, as she tried to hide them all from view but _damn it_! Whoever had put them up had made sure that it was close to impossible to take them back down. When she realised she couldn't take them down, she started sobbing.

Others had joined her by now, trying their best to get rid of the posters, but Sakura paid no attention to them. Ino was by her side in an instant, doing whatever she could to help. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Kiba, Shikamaru… All of her friends, both old and new, helping her out. Hinata was there, too, along with her cousin and his friends.

She didn't notice when the door opened, when a certain redhead entered the school, only to pause in his place when he spotted the posters, when he heard Sakura sobbing. Others did, though, and they all froze at the anger on his face, at the way his fists were suddenly clenched and shaking. Gaara was losing it. He was going to lash out.

However, completely stunning them, Gaara didn't lash out. Instead, he went straight over to Sakura and turned her around so that she was facing him, pulling her against him as she cried. She held onto him tightly, squeezing her eyes shut as she shook with her sobs.

"M–Make them go away!" she practically screamed. "I don't… _I don't want to remember_!"

Everyone was near frantic as they all but attacked the walls, some even breaking their nails as they tried to get rid of the posters, as they tried to take away her pain.

"Take her home, Gaara."

He looked up at Sasuke, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. However, Gaara could tell that Sasuke's anger wasn't directed at him. It was at what had happened, at whoever had done it. They had a good idea who it had been.

"I'll tell Sarutobi–sama and her parents." another voice spoke up and Gaara was surprised to see Kakashi there, glaring at the posters around him. "Just take her home and stay with her."

Gaara nodded once and gave his car keys to Shikamaru, telling him to give them to his sister (he would drive Sakura's car), but just as he turned to leave, his eyes connected with Sasuke's.

"Take care of her."

"Oi, teme! Get back over here and help!"

Sasuke's left eye twitched ever so slightly and if the situation hadn't been so serious, Gaara would have smirked at the anger in his eyes. Instead, however, Gaara once again nodded before tightening his hold on Sakura and leaving.

The drive was silent except for Sakura's sniffling as she tried to stop sobbing. He switched the radio on, knowing that, as well as reading, listening to music helped calm her. However, after only a couple of moments, Sakura switched the radio off and instead turned on the CD player. She relaxed back her seat as her favourite song started to play. When Gaara noticed that she was shivering, he turned on the heater.

His hold tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white due to the strain. Who could have done such a thing? Sakura had told him that Sasuke had dislocated both of Zaku's shoulders and it was possible that he could have broken a bone or two in his arms as well as damaged his back, so that ruled him out. Whoever had done it would have had to be quick and have full use of their arms. Could it have been Karin? Gaara honestly couldn't see her risking being found just to put up some posters. What about Suigetsu? He shoved the thoughts from his mind when he heard Sakura speak.

"I think," she frowned for a moment and paused, "my mom made some cookies the other night. I'll have a look for some."

Gaara blinked. How did Sakura know that he liked cookies? Had Temari told her?

"You like them, right?"

He nodded once.

"I'll find them. If we don't have any, there'll be some cookie dough in the freezer."

"You don't–"

"I want to."

* * *

><p>As soon as they entered Sakura's house, Gaara had started a fire to warm them up and she had let Ao back in. He had taken one step into the living room to see who was there, looked at Gaara, and then fallen asleep in front of the fire. Whilst Sakura searched through the cupboards for the cookies, the phone rang and since it was obvious she was too busy to answer it, Gaara did.<p>

"_Sakura, are you okay_?"

Gaara rolled his eyes at Mebuki's near–frantic voice, though he was glad she had spoken first since he had no idea what to say. "It's Gaara."

"_Oh, hello, Gaara–kun. Where's Sakura? Sarutobi–sama has just contacted me, saying that something happened at school, something about indecent posters."_

Of course the old man hadn't informed Mebuki about what was on the posters. "Sakura's in the kitchen looking for… cookies. As for the posters they," he paused, unsure as to whether he should tell her or not before sighing, "the posters were of Sakura, Mebuki."

Silence.

And then he heard her breathing in shakily, like she was about to cry. "_I won't be able to come home until two. Would you mind staying with her until then? I also have a meeting with the school to try and find out who could do such a thing. Oh." _Mebuki sighed, sounding torn. "_I want to be there, but I can't._"

"I will stay with her."

"_You're so good to her. I'm glad Sakura has you in her life._" she told him softly before adding, "_If it's the cookies you're looking for, tell Sakura that they're in the refrigerator in her bedroom. I would have kept them downstairs but Kazashi kept trying to eat them all and he's supposed to be watching his weight!"_

"I'll tell her."

"_Thank you. I'll see you both around two, then."_

Not knowing what else to do, he mumbled an awkward 'goodbye' and hung up the phone. Then, sighing, he made his way over to the kitchen, where he found Sakura looking as though she was about to have a breakdown.

"They're here somewhere. I_ know _they are! I saw her making them!"

Capturing her hands before she could slam yet another cupboard door shut, Gaara sighed and pulled her against him, waiting until she relaxed before he spoke. "Your mother just called and won't be able to come home until this afternoon. As for the cookies, they're in the refrigerator in your bedroom."

"Oh."

She pulled away from him but kept hold of Gaara's hand as she made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. However, it wasn't cookies that she had in mind. It was something completely different and Sakura knew that Gaara did, too. She could tell because he had suddenly tensed, because the air around them was growing more heated and when they finally reached her room, the door was barely even shut properly before they were kissing, before Sakura was fisting her hands in his hair as Gaara lifted her, before she was wrapping her legs around his hips and he was pressing her against his growing arousal. She sighed with pleasure, her eyes sliding shut as she rolled her hips against his, barely even noticing that Gaara was walking towards her bed until he placed her down on it, following straight away.

Their kisses turned sloppy as Gaara's hands all but ripped her blouse open, destroying the buttons that had been holding it together. He didn't take it off fully, for it would take way too much time, so instead he pushed it open further before unclasping her bra so that he could move his kisses to her breasts, enjoying how Sakura arched against him, how she gasped his name and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

His hands went to her skirt next and as he tugged it up and over her hips, Sakura's hands went straight to his pants, impatiently unbuttoning them and shoving them down enough for him to be freed. Gaara couldn't recall a time when he had needed somebody so badly before. It almost felt like he _had_ to have her, that he _needed_ her and as he looked into her eyes for a split second, Gaara saw that Sakura was feeling the same need.

Not even taking time to remove her underwear, Sakura pushed them to the side and guided him to her entrance, her breathing just as quick as his as she did. Gaara placed his hands on each side of her head and lowered himself onto one of his elbows, the other hand moving down to rest near her hip as he watched her eyes.

However, just as the tip of his erection entered her, Sakura's bedroom door slammed open.

"What the–"

"Sakura–san!"

"Oh my God!"

Gaara was the only one who didn't make a sound, though his surprise was obvious. Quickly grabbing Sakura's sheets (secretly grateful that Sakura didn't make her bed), he covered their bodies, now glaring at the blonde in the doorway and the girl standing behind her. Poor Hinata looked as though she was about to faint!

"Damn it, Ino!" Sakura growled as she sat up, but was careful not to move too much so that the sheet would reveal both her and Gaara. She moved closer to him, so that her breasts wouldn't be on show to her friends. "Can't you knock like a–"

Both Sakura and Gaara suddenly tensed, the latter barely able to control his reaction as he turned his head away from the two girls at the door whilst the former couldn't help but gasp. He tried to pull back, pull _out_, but Sakura stopped his movements as she grabbed his hips and kept them pressed against hers, shaking her head quickly. Just by the look on her face it was obvious she was trying not to cry out and seeing this, the two stood at the door gasped, though Hinata's gasp sounded more like a squeak.

"…We'll give you a minute." Ino said quietly, her eyes still wide with shock as she dragged the red–faced Hinata out with her.

Gaara's lust filled eyes locked onto Sakura's and the both of them felt shame welling up within them. Their first time together and it was like this, with two of her friends there to witness the first thrust. How embarrassing. Part of Sakura wanted to cry – she had wanted her first time with Gaara to be special. She had wanted _his_ first time to be special. It wasn't supposed to be a quickie or rushed. Damn it! Her friends weren't supposed to have walked in.

"Sakura–"

"I–It doesn't count!" she quickly told him, her eyes almost desperate. "It was an accident, right?" Immediately, however, her eyes lowered. "…I wanted our first time to be special. _Your _first time to be special."

His hand was trembling ever so slightly as he cupped her face and it was taking everything in him not to continue his thrusts. "It still can be." Gaara murmured before he pulled his hips back, far enough so that they were no longer connected, trying his best to ignore Sakura's gasp of pleasure, trying to ignore how it felt.

"It can?"

He nodded once, pressing his lips to hers softly. "Yes."

"If you want… you can use my shower." she told him quietly and when he nodded his thanks, she added, "You left some of your clothes from when you stayed over before – they're in my wardrobe. You should probably put them on since your uniform is a little damp." It was funny how neither of them had noticed how wet they were from the rain. Then, she gave him a small smile. "I'll take the cookies downstairs."

Gaara chuckled, capturing her lips with his once again. "Don't eat them all."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but her smile was still there. "You're just going to have to hurry if you want some, aren't you?"

He was out the bed and in her bathroom in just a couple of seconds and Sakura could only sit there in stunned silence when the bathroom door shut before she chuckled to herself. Gaara really did love cookies. Sakura had thought that Temari was exaggerating! The chuckles died down after a moment, though.

What had they been doing? How the hell did they even get so… so… Sakura didn't even know what they were. One moment she was close to hysterical about _cookies_ and then the next, they were both in her room, kissing frantically and about to have sex. She smirked as she got up, pulling her uniform off as she made her way over to her wardrobe to get changed. It seemed Gaara's self–control wasn't as strong as she had thought.

Opening one of the drawers, Sakura grabbed some of Gaara's clothes and placed them on top of her dresser and when she heard the shower switch on, she slipped on a pair of joggers and a long–sleeved shirt.

When Sakura went downstairs, she sighed. How the hell had Ino and Hinata get into her home? The sound of giggling caught her attention and her eyes narrowed. Were they laughing at her and Gaara? They better not be! Opening the living room door, Sakura opened her mouth to yell at them, only to pause at the sight before her.

Ino and Hinata were _playing _with Ao.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the dog as he looked up at her. "Some guard dog you are!" He barked once. Rolling her eyes, she looked at the two girls who were now getting up off the floor. Sakura folded her arms over her chest, not falling for Ino's 'innocent' look for a second. Hinata's… Well, that was a completely different story since she probably _was_ innocent. "How did you get in?"

This time, Ino rolled her eyes. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't want to answer the front door so I used the key. You've always kept your spare key under the second plant pot to the right." Sakura blinked, her arms dropping from their folded position to her sides. "Which, by the way, I have with me now. I don't think you should be leaving spare keys laying around outside your house. It's not exactly safe, is it?"

At Sakura's wide eyes, Hinata quickly spoke up. "Don't worry, Sakura–san! It's easy to forget about spare keys."

Ino held her hand out and in it was a silver key. Sakura accepted it numbly. She had completely forgotten about having a spare key. What if Zaku had found it one day and broke in? Or… Or the guy who had raped her in the woods? Sakura suddenly wasn't in the mood for cookies anymore.

"Thanks."

"We came by to see how you were." Ino said quietly, watching as Ao moved restlessly in front of Sakura in response to her distress. "I was about to leave when Hinata asked if she could join me. We, uh…" Which explained the unlikely pair. The blonde lifted the bag at her side awkwardly. "We brought you some food." she bit her lip when Sakura took the bag slowly. "We can't stay, though. Asuma–sensei only gave us an hour to come and visit you."

Hinata fidgeted with her sleeves. "T–They… Um… At school… they're working hard to get rid of the posters." she told Sakura. "Akio–san has helped a lot by allowing us to use his supplies."

Akio. That was the janitor! He was such a nice person and always managed to make her laugh even when she felt like utter shit. "Tell them all 'thanks'."

"We didn't mean to interrupt." Ino told her, a faint blush gracing her cheeks.

Sakura frowned, looking down at Ao before looking at Ino and Hinata. "How did you manage to get by Ao?"

"You left the living room door shut." Hinata told her. "And when we came back downstairs, he was…"

"Well, he wasn't happy." Ino muttered when Hinata trailed off, giving the dog a glare. "It took forever for Hinata to calm him down."

The Hyuuga gave an awkward, shy smile. "N–Not forever… Only a couple of moments. I've met him before since I am friends with Kiba–kun. After calming Ao down, he was lovely and very playful."

"Hm." Sakura hummed as she looked down at Ao and in response, he tilted his head to the side. He was supposed to be a protector, not a playful puppy! Kiba had told her that he wasn't a playful dog. Though, saying that, Hinata had a very calming effect and Ino… Well, she always brought out the playful side in people. It seemed it worked for dogs, too. "Thank you both for coming to check up on me. It was really nice of you."

Ino gave her a dismissive wave. "Don't mention it. Shikamaru's looking through the security tapes with Asuma–sensei and Akio to try and find who did it. The only reason he's allowed to help is because he's a smartass."

"We have to go now." Hinata told her apologetically. "If you need anything…"

Again, as she trailed off, Ino spoke up. "Just call us."

"Thanks."

When they both left, Sakura searched under the plants outside for more spare keys and once she had found them all, she went back inside. Lucky for her, because of the design of the house and the fact that the plants were on the porch, she didn't get wet. Once inside, Sakura locked the door behind her and put all the keys in the living room so that she didn't forget to tell her mother about possibly changing the locks, just in case somebody had some of the keys cut.

By the time Gaara came downstairs, the living room was toasty–warm, Sakura had switched the television on and she had set the cookies down on the coffee table as well as the other snacks that Ino and Hinata had brought her. Apparently Ino still remembered what food Sakura enjoyed eating when she was feeling down.

He sat down next to her silently but just as Sakura thought that things were going to be awkward, he picked up the plate of cookies, sat back and pulled her against him. She inwardly sighed with relief. The last thing she wanted was for things to be awkward between her and Gaara. He meant too much to her for things to go bad between them.

"Hey!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "Save some cookies for me!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN - 500 REVIEWS BITCHES!  
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**Sorry about that. I was just really happy! I actually shouted that out and my sister looked at me like I've lost my mind. I probably have.**

**xxsharingansakuraxx! Your review was review five hundred.**** Uh... I don't really have any gifts, so instead I updated again today!  
><strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! I try my best to reply to you, but I usually wake up to your reviews and by the time I'm updating, I'm like "Shit. I forgot to reply."**

**I'm feelings looooooads better now. I'm actually quite hyper today and I have no idea why! Oh, and I bought my cat a harness. He acts like he hates it, but I know he secretly loves it, especially since I know he enjoys tormenting the neighbour's dog and as soon as I get him used to the harness, we're going to annoy him together. If you want to know what my cat looks like, search 'black fluffy cat' on google. My cat has green eyes and his tongue is always sticking out!  
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**I was thinking about creating an instagram or a twitter account for my fanfiction, but I'm not sure if I should or not. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't want anybody I actually know to somehow read all this stuff I write because I'd just find talking to them awkward considering the amount of smut I usually put into my stories. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind getting to know a lot of you a little better, you know? Some of you seem like really nice, cool people. Would any of you follow me if I did that? It'd be quite awkward just making an account and having nobody following me. Hahah!**

**To the guest account who asked me to put "GaaSaku" in my summary. No. I'm kind of a perfectionist and I like having my summaries the way I want them to look. Also, I've explained so many times now that this isn't only GaaSaku. It's SasuSaku, too. Hell, there's a little NaruSaku in here too somewhere and possibly even ItaSaku moments (I love that pairing sooo much). If you're not a multi-shipper, don't read. It's as simple as that. And what do you mean by trigger warnings? If you're on about the chapters that go into detail about what happened to Sakura, I do put warnings. At the top of the chapter, in fact.**

**hopelesslysingle your review made me laugh! For some reason, when I was reading it, I was reading it in the voice of some sassy, ghetto woman. You know the type on those vines when they're clapping and shouting and stuff? The "Who are you?" part had me thinking of this woman who was once on Big Brother. I think her name's Nikki Grahame! Flames piss me off, too, but me and my friend always laugh it off with each other so I don't get too angry with them. Once, in one of my other fanfictions, somebody told me that my writing is always non-progressive. So now, whenever we're going to do some writing, we're like "Right, I'm off to do so non-progressive, unrealistic writing" or whatever the hell they want to say next.**

**I've ranted quite a bit today. Uh... I think that's all.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	48. Mentally Ill?

**Chapter 48 – Mentally Ill?**

"No!"

Kakashi blinked and slowly looked up from his book. Well, it was Sakura's book. After she had finished the second in the trilogy, she had handed it over to him. He wouldn't admit it to her, but the books were pretty good. They weren't as great as _Icha Icha_, of course, but they were still good. It was just a shame nobody was having sex in them. It would have made it so much better!

Sakura threw her book on the table and sat back on the sofa covering her face. "_What the fuck_?"

This was new, Kakashi thought as he placed the bookmark on his current page and closed the book, placing it down on his desk. Sakura was clearly distressed about something because she only ever swore when she was angry, upset or confused. Right now, she seemed to be all three. "Sakura?"

"No!" she snapped, lowering her hands and pointing at the book. "No."

"I take it you don't like the ending?"

Her eyes locked with his and narrowed. "Oh, I liked the ending – _loved it _– but what the hell was Suzanne Collins thinking? How the hell could she–" she cut herself off, remembering Kakashi was still only on the second book, _Catching Fire_. "You'll understand when you read _Mockingjay_."

"I don't think I want to." he mumbled, looking over at the orange/red book that was sitting on his table. "Was it really that bad?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "You're going to get a _big_ surprise. Actually, two surprises."

"I take it they're bad surprises?"

"You could say that." Sakura muttered. She sighed and picked up _Mockingjay _again, assessing the cover to make sure she hadn't damaged it when she threw it down. She hated it when her things looked beaten and scruffy. "I got to the first surprise yesterday and Gaara thought I'd lost my mind because I threw the book across the room then, too." Once she was certain it wasn't damaged, Sakura opened it again on the page she had been on. "Die, die,_ die_. That's probably what Suzanne was saying to herself as she wrote this book. I can't believe she–"

"Stop!" he exclaimed. "I still haven't finished the second book!"

She sighed again and sat back on the sofa. "Okay, okay."

"Just tell me one thing, though." When Sakura looked up, he gave her the most serious look she had ever seen, making her frown. "Does Katniss have sex with anyone?"

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're such a pervert!"

Despite saying that, though, Sakura was glad that Kakashi didn't hold back on topics such as sex. It was surprising how many people did, actually. It was like they were afraid of upsetting her. Kakashi, however, seemed to know her well and knew that she wouldn't be happy with him for doing the same. After all, if he did, he wouldn't be Kakashi.

He blinked, the serious look not faltering for a second. "You didn't answer my question, Sakura."

"No." she told him, giving him a mock–understanding look when he sighed dejectedly. "But I haven't finished _Mockingjay_ yet. I'm near the end, though, and I think I know who she's going to choose."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Sakura inwardly growled and if it wasn't for the fact she was holding her book, she would have clenched her fists. "You'll find out sooner or later."

Kakashi once again sighed before going back to _Catching Fire_. Now he wasn't sure if he wanted to read _Mockingjay_. Sakura had started complaining earlier about 'feels' – whatever the hell _they _were. He wouldn't let her explain them to him, either. Actually, Kakashi hadn't allowed Sakura to explain anything after she had told him about 'shipping' and showed him fan–fiction. He shuddered. Fandoms were a scary thing and even though he _did_ want certain characters together… Kakashi once again shuddered.

Looking down at her book, Sakura ran her fingers over the edge of the pages. She could already tell who Katniss was going to pick, even if the girl herself didn't know yet. Even though their lives were nothing alike, Sakura could relate to her so much that it was making her ache and angry because, like Katniss, she didn't know who to be with, either. Though, considering what other people have told her or said about her, Sakura was guessing it was obvious who she should choose, too.

No. She couldn't think about that, now. Not yet, anyway. Right now, Sasuke was giving her space. He had told her that she could go to him with anything, but if she needed space to think about things like he had, then he'd understand.

She didn't deserve either of them, did she? Sakura sat back against the sofa once again, still staring down at the book in her hands. Nobody had told her that to her face, but she knew they were all thinking it. She could tell by the looks they gave her. Or were they looks of disgust and pity?

The looks had started the day after the whole poster incident. When Sakura and Gaara had returned to school, the posters were all gone, although you could tell that they had been there because of the white pieces of paper that were still stuck on the walls. It was probably from when some posters had ripped in half. It had now been three days since the posters had been put up. Some of the guys at school gave her lustful looks, gazing at her like she was a piece of meat, no matter how hard they tried to hide them. Others looked at her with pity. Most girls looked at her with disgust and on more than one occasion, she had heard them whispering about her, calling her a slut. Some even said that they didn't think she was raped.

That was probably the thing that got to her the most. Why would somebody lie about such a thing? Sakura had seen it before, though. When things don't go their way in a relationship, the girlfriend (or ex–girlfriend) would cry rape just to get revenge. Why would they do that? Was it really worth destroying some guy's life just because he didn't want to be with them?

Why would _she_ lie about being raped? Sakura would admit that the posters looked bad and not just because she had been naked and looking as though she was touching herself. But for all they knew, she could have been forced to take them! Sakura couldn't even remember posing for those pictures. She couldn't even remember anybody recording what had happened even though she had seen the tapes!

When the bell rang, indicating that it was lunch, Sakura gave Kakashi a quiet "see you later" whilst packing her things and leaving his office to meet with Gaara on the rooftop. Her friends offered them seats with them at lunch, but really… Sakura didn't know what to think. She declined their offer instead and said thank you. Just because they were her friends again, it didn't mean that she had completely forgiven them for ignoring her, for pushing her away. True, she should have told them about what happened so that they could–

So that they could what? Try to help? Understand her? Yeah. Like that would ever happen.

Sakura sighed. She probably sounded like a whiny, hormonal teenager who hates the world.

Pushing the door to the roof open, Sakura was greeted by the sight of Gaara waiting for her and when he saw her, he gave Sakura the soft smile he saved only for her. It made her heart flutter and before she could stop herself, she was by his side and pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. For some reason, despite the fact that they had done much more sexual things together, Gaara always blushed when she kissed his cheek. It was adorable.

She sat down beside him and together, they ate their lunch. Sakura told him all about her session with Kakashi, making him smirk when he heard about her reaction to yet another unpleasant surprise in her book. Then, even though he was certain she didn't really want to know about his day so far, after she asked, he told her about it, about how Naruto (who was in quite a few of his classes) had moved to sit next to him, how he was always talking about ramen or video games or asking about her. Gaara didn't miss how Sakura had smiled softly when she heard that.

"You need to speak to Sasuke, Sakura."

Grabbing her bottle, Sakura took a sip of her water. "Why?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her childish pout or her stubborn reply. "He's miserable and Naruto is worried about him." Pain flitted across Sakura's features, making him sigh. "If our places were reversed–"

"Sasuke wouldn't do the same for you!" she snapped and quickly threw her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide before it fell to her lap, her eyes glaring down at it. "Gaara, every time I talk to him, something goes wrong or something bad happens or he says the wrong thing and _I_ end up getting hurt because of it!" Running a hand through her hair, Sakura looked up at him with pained eyes. "I don't know what to do but I'm so tired of being hurt. Sasuke… He's… I don't know. I just… I don't want my friendship with him to be damaged."

"Avoiding him is going to do more damage."

She lowered her head. "I know."

Gaara could understand why she was scared of talking to him because honestly, he was put on edge every time Sasuke spoke with her. It wasn't that he was jealous. It was because of what happened with Zaku and when he had blurted out about her being placed on suicide watch. It felt like it killed him inside seeing Sakura in pain, seeing her hurting. He _hated_ it! And part of Gaara hated Sasuke, too. No matter what the Uchiha did, he always ended up doing more bad than good. But it was also because of that, that Gaara felt sorry for him. How much did it hurt Sasuke knowing that he was always hurting Sakura?

There were times when it was obvious that Sasuke cared for Sakura. Like the day those damned posters had been placed all over school. However, it was also obvious that the Uchiha was starting to learn that he couldn't be the one to comfort her. As much as Gaara hated to think it, he knew that when Sasuke had previously comforted Sakura, it had always been with sex. It made him feel sick to his stomach knowing that. It was probably why Sakura relied so much on sex to take the pain away, to make her forget.

He had science with Sasuke and that lesson had been right before lunch. He hadn't spared a glance in Gaara's direction, but Gaara knew that if he had, Sasuke would have been glaring at him. However, during that lesson, he had seemed too exhausted to even bother. It wasn't fair to him. It wasn't fair to those around Sasuke, either. Naruto had told Gaara that when Sasuke was stressed, he got angry and his anger always, _always_, got the best of him. Ever since he was a kid his anger had always been rather dangerous. Yes, Gaara knew that he himself had a couple of anger issues, but he had been working on them! He was much calmer than he used to be. Sasuke, however, was not dealing with it and it was making him a ticking time–bomb.

"Does Sasuke have I.E.D?"

Sakura frowned, glancing up at Gaara as he tore her out of her wandering thoughts. "I.E.D?" she repeated. "That's 'Intermittent Explosive Disorder', right?" When Gaara nodded once, her frown deepened. "I was tested for that, I think. It was before they diagnosed me with bipolar disorder." As bad as it sounded, it honestly didn't surprise Gaara because he had seen what she was like when angered. "I've honestly never thought about it – I just always thought he had difficulty with controlling his anger." Her expression grew worried as she turned to face him fully. "Do you think I should say something to him? Or warn Itachi?"

"It's not our place to say such things." he muttered before nodding. "But if he continues like he is now…" Gaara trailed off, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "He may do worse than say a couple of mean things to you, Sakura, and I know it would hurt him if he accidentally hurt you." Not to mention he'd beat the shit out of Sasuke if he ever hit Sakura and that would upset her even more.

She knew how dangerous I.E.D could be. At the psychiatric hospital, there had been several patients with the disorder and, like the idiot she was, she had targeted them in her attempt at getting into fights, hoping that they would lose it and go too far. Of course, Sakura didn't know the actual symptoms. All she knew was that there could be a possibility of Sasuke having the disorder. Oh God she hoped not. Being labelled as mentally unstable was one of the worst things to have ever happened to her. Okay, not _the_ worst, but it was still horrible.

"I'll talk to Itachi." her voice was no louder than a whisper when she spoke again, swallowing hard. "Knowing Sasuke, he'd probably just brush it off as nothing."

Gaara nodded once, giving her a small smile. "It would be the right thing to do."

* * *

><p>Knowing that Sasuke would be out at practise, Sakura had called Itachi, asking if he had time to meet her tonight after school. The conversation hadn't lasted long as he had been on his way to a meeting, but because he had missed lunch, Itachi <em>was<em> able to meet her.

And now here they were, sitting side–by–side at a park on a bench. Ao was chasing a ball her mother had bought for him, occasionally changing the throwers by bringing it back to either Itachi or Sakura. Surprisingly, Itachi didn't mind playing ball with Ao, though he had been rather stunned when he saw the dog, surprised that Sakura could even walk him without being dragged everywhere. She had replied that Ao was obedient and well–trained, so knew not to pull for her. However, it wasn't the same for her parents. Her mother had attempted to take him for a walk the other day and had only gotten to the end of the drive before she yelled for Sakura to take him instead. The look on Mebuki's face when she saw how well–behaved Ao was for not only Sakura, but also Gaara (who had come to her rescue), had been hilarious.

"I'm worried about Sasuke." Sakura told him and she didn't fail to notice how Itachi tensed ever so slightly. "And I know that you are, too." Sighing, she watched as Ao ran to retrieve his ball. "There's this disorder called intermittent explosive disorder and I think that it's possible Sasuke may have it. I know I can't really diagnose him, especially since I don't know much about the disorder, but… I know that it's to do with…"

"Anger."

The tone of his voice had Sakura looking up at him and when she noticed the look on his face, her heart beat faster. The expression on his face was a look similar to that of somebody who had been trying desperately to figure something out, but it was always just out of their grasp.

"I was once tested for it before they diagnosed me with bipolar disorder." she said quietly, going back to watching Ao as he made his way over to them. "But I was too out of it to remember much about it. All I know is that it sounds an awful lot like Sasuke. Sasuke… he'll often say or do things and… Well, have you noticed how, when Sasuke gets angry, he starts twitching? It's not that obvious, but his eye twitches and his hands do, too. Sometimes he'll start shaking. He can't control his anger and I know that it's hurting him when he says or does something that hurts others. Maybe it doesn't hurt him _as_ he's doing those things, but I know it's hurting him afterwards." Sakura ran a hand through her hair and once Itachi had thrown Ao's ball for him again, she glanced up at him. "I'm probably wrong, but there's no harm in checking, is there?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, I believe you may be right." At her questioning and confused look, he sighed. "Mental illnesses run through our family, Sakura, and have for a long time. I just never considered Sasuke having a mental disorder, though it would explain a lot." For a while, they were both silent and Itachi looked much older than he was. "I will contact–"

"Minato–san." Sakura interrupted softly, giving him a small smile. "You can trust him and Sasuke trusts him, too. Believe me, he's not going to want people he doesn't know assessing him. I wish my mom had gone straight to him. If Sasuke reacts like I did…" she shook her head. "Just go to Minato–san."

He gave her a smile. "Thank you for telling me, Sakura."

"It's fine. I'll do anything and everything to make sure that Sasuke's okay."

Just like she knew Itachi would.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Okay, Sasuke isn't in these chapters because he's giving Sakura space, like he had needed space before. He also knows that he can't be the one to comfort her like Gaara does. Think about all the times he's hurt her by saying and doing the wrong thing. Itachi mentioned it in chapter thirty-five or thirty-six, too! It's part of the reason why Sasuke left in the first place. He knows his anger gets the best of him and he doesn't want to hurt Sakura.  
><strong>

**I will admit, though, that it's looking more like a GaaSaku story than a SasuSaku, but that doesn't mean she'll end up with Gaara. Feelings and love and shit like that are confusing. Anybody who says they're easy to understand are lying. Or extremely lucky. In Sakura's eyes, Sasuke has always been there. Ever since she was a baby. But now Gaara is here, too, and she can talk to him without him judging her, because he somewhat understands her to an extent.**

**I hope I've cleared things up a little bit. I promise she'll be making her decision in about four or five chapters.**

**Now, I'm going to go and read the new Naruto chapter and get something to eat.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	49. Make You Feel My Love

**Chapter ****49 ****– Make You Feel My Love**

Tonight.

Sakura tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach at just the thought of what she was going to do.

Her treatment with Tsunade had been working well so far and she was going to surprise him. Despite Gaara telling her that she didn't need sex to show him her feelings or to try and forget about things, Sakura had no idea how else to do it. She had told Gaara that she loved him, but now she wanted to show him. She wanted him to _feel_ her love instead of just hearing her say it.

Yes, Sakura knew that there were other ways to show her love to Gaara, but right now, she honestly couldn't think of a single one of them. Gaara wasn't the romantic type. He did sweet things for her and he took care of her, but he did it because he was a good person, because he cared for her. He didn't do those things to be romantic. This was the only way she could prove her love to him. It was the only way she knew how to. She and Sasuke were pretty similar that way.

Sasuke…

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. What was she supposed to do about Sasuke? She had no idea and it was killing her inside. It was _killing _her.

No. Sakura shoved all thoughts of Sasuke from her mind. No. Tonight was about Gaara. After everything he had done for her, she was going to make sure everything was about him tonight. After all the times he had held her as she cried herself to sleep, after all the times he had listened to her without interruption, without judgement, after all the times he had smiled at her and made her happy and just… been there for her. He deserved this. She wanted to make him feel special, too. She wanted… She didn't just want to have sex with him, she wanted to _make love_ to him.

Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead, but immediately cringed as the foam from her bath that had been on her hand splattered on her face. Why did it have to sound so cheesy when she thought the words? Biting her lip, Sakura wiped the foam from her face and continued with shaving her legs, making sure not to miss a single hair.

It wouldn't just be sex between them. Sakura wanted to be connected to him in every way possible. When she thought about being with Gaara in such a way, she didn't think about their writhing, sweaty bodies entangled in her sheets–

Okay, so _part _of her thought about that, but so what? Could you really blame her?

Sakura groaned with annoyance. What she thought about most wasn't just how great it would feel, but the emotional connection.

A thought suddenly hit her, making her blood run cold as she slowly looked down at her wrists. How could she have forgotten about her scars? She knew that Gaara had his own scar, but… but was she really ready to show him hers again? He had seen them once before, but this time would be different. Maybe she should cover them with make up? Or bracelets? Would that work?

No. She'd most likely offend Gaara if she tried to hide them and that was the last thing she wanted. Gaara had been there for her, supporting her and letting her lean on him whenever she needed to. It would be insulting him if she tried to hide herself from him now, especially after all he had done for her.

It was decided, then.

She would no longer hide herself from Gaara. Even though it scared the shit out of her, she was going to show him all of her.

Tonight.

* * *

><p>Sakura grinned to herself.<p>

She had managed to talk her mother into going away for the weekend with her father, meaning she and Gaara would have the place to themselves. Also, because it would be kind of awkward to have him watch, Sakura had placed Ao's bed outside her bedroom door and planned on keeping it shut so that he wouldn't come in. Hopefully, he would get the idea that she needed some privacy with Gaara. She would have locked him out for the night in the yard, but it was still quite cold out and… Well, it'd be mean of her, wouldn't it? Locking him out just so that she could have sex?

Looking around her room and making sure it wasn't a mess, Sakura sighed happily before rushing into her wardrobe. She hadn't done anything special with her room. All she had done was buy a few candles and placed them here and there as well as dimmed her lights. Sakura would have switched them off completely, but she needed to be able to see and she wasn't entirely comfortable with extremely low light (candlelight). It made the shadows look so much more imposing and dangerous. No. The light had to either be on or off. Until then, until Gaara was here, it would remain dim, but not too dim.

What else was there to do? She had already bathed, shaved, put on some body lotion that made her skin feel like silk, taken her birth control pill, set up her room and…

Oh! Lingerie.

All she had to do was try and remember what Gaara's favourite pair were. He had never told her which ones he preferred, but Sakura had noticed that his eyes lingered on one set longer than her others.

Shuffling through her drawers, Sakura's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to find the right pair. Another grin broke out on her face as she found them. Crimson with black lace! For a moment there, Sakura had thought that she'd left that at Gaara's house. After slipping them on, she looked through her outfits. What to wear… What to wear… What to wear… Damn! She felt like Ino.

It had to be something special, yet not too much. Her make up was already done and instead of how she would usually wear it, Sakura had kept it light and natural. Gaara had told her once that she looked much better without it, though she was certain that was because she had accidentally gotten mascara on his pillowcase one time. It hadn't been a lot of it and it wasn't even that noticeable. Sakura never fell asleep in her make up, but sometimes, she gave up halfway through the process of removing her mascara. Her hair was left down and straight, since there was no point in doing anything special with it – if things went according to her plan, then it would only be getting messy later on. And besides, Gaara liked running his hands through her hair and had commented on it before saying that it felt soft.

Crimson, navy or black? Navy was definitely a no–no, now that she thought about it. It was Sasuke's favourite colour. What was Gaara's? He had never really told her what his favourite colour was. All he had said was 'dark'. Also, her lingerie was crimson. Hm. Did that mean she should go with black? It would make her eye colour stand out even more than what it already did…

Nodding to herself, Sakura pulled her black dress from its hanger and walked over to her wall mirror, watching as she slipped it on carefully. Straightening out any creases she found, Sakura turned this way and that, making sure she looked okay. The dress went to mid–thigh and clung to her curves, like pretty much all of her dresses did, and it also had a low neck–line, revealing a decent amount of her cleavage. Ino had bought her this dress for her sixteenth birthday, but Sakura had never really been able to wear it before because of how small her breasts had been. Lucky for her, she had only been a late–bloomer. Her mother had been, too. So now, instead of the dress slipping down and revealing too much, it stayed in place.

The sound of barking stole Sakura's attention from admiring herself and her stomach filled with a ridiculous amount of butterflies. He was early! Oh God. Oh God. _Oh fucking God_.

Reminding herself to breathe, Sakura took one last look at herself, smiled brightly and all but skipped down the stairs, telling Ao to back off while she opened the door. He did so, going to sit by the stairs with his usual I'm–going–to–pounce–on–whoever–that–is stare. She quickly looked through the peep–hole in the door and had to bite her lip to stop herself from squealing with excitement.

Damn it! Why was she so nervous? Was it because it was Gaara? Was it because she was going to be showing him her scars again later that night? Or was it because she was finally, _finally_, going to tear down that last wall separating them? Now that she thought about it, Sakura was certain the 'wall' looked more like clothes…

She shook the thoughts from her mind and opened the door, smiling brightly at Gaara. He seemed stunned for a moment, looking at her in surprise, but then his eyes looked over her body, making her practically tingle all over when he smirked at her.

Gaara stepped forward and shut the door behind him, still smirking down at Sakura as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He was surprised by the soft moan that came from her as his hand found its way to her hip, but thought nothing of it. During their time together, Gaara had learned about how her body was sometimes much more sensitive than usual. It must be one of those times.

"You're beautiful." he murmured against her lips and when he pulled back, Gaara couldn't help but smile at the faint blush on her cheeks or how she tried to follow his lips.

Taking his hand, Sakura smiled up at him, locked the front door and made her way into the living room. As much as she wanted to just take him up into her bedroom and let him have his way with her, she knew not to rush it.

"I made dinner."

Gaara raised a brow at her. "_You_ made dinner?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I ordered takeout. You know, there's no need to be so–"

She was silenced by his lips pressing to hers.

Maybe it wouldn't be so hard asking him to make love to her. After all, Sakura had already learned before that his self–control wasn't as strong as she had once thought.

* * *

><p>Gaara was quite surprised by how much effort Sakura had put into tonight. It wasn't that he was complaining, it was just different. Usually they simply relaxed and watched movies or read books, but tonight… Well, for starters, Sakura was wearing a dress. She only wore them when she wanted to look her best. Not that she didn't always, of course. Usually, though, she sat around in comfortable clothing. Not only that, but for the entire night, the mood had been… intimate.<p>

The fire had already been going when he first arrived and the takeout she had ordered was his favourite. Ao had been acting differently, too. Instead of jumping up on the sofa and demanding Sakura's attention, he had been calmly laying by the fire and the only time he had interrupted them was when he needed the bathroom.

And then Sakura had excused herself for a couple of minutes, saying that she needed the bathroom. But if she needed the bathroom, why did she go all the way upstairs to the one in her bedroom when there was one downstairs? Gaara felt like he was missing something and as Ao looked up at him and huffed, it only made him frown. Could dogs roll their eyes at you? Because he was certain Ao had done just that!

"Gaara!"

Standing up, he made his way to the bottom of the stairs, looking up at Sakura with confusion. "What's wrong?"

She smiled. "Nothing. Just… can you switch the television and the lights off as well as put out the fire? I'm ready for bed."

Ready for bed? When she was still wearing her dress? And – Oh, fair enough. It was past eleven o'clock. Gaara nodded once and did as she asked, once again frowning when Ao seemed to roll his eyes again. Sakura hadn't asked him to, but he let Ao out back for a couple of minutes to see if he needed the bathroom before letting him back in.

As he made his way up the stairs and in the direction of Sakura's bedroom, it occurred to him that Ao wasn't following like he usually did. Gaara shrugged to himself. At least he wouldn't have to share Sakura's bed with him again. Yes, the bed was big enough for all three of them but that was beside the point. It felt nice when it was only him and Sakura.

Gaara paused in the doorway of Sakura's room, blinking a few times to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. There was a pleasant scent coming from the candles she had lit, almost like… Gaara wasn't too sure. It was a mixture of different smells, but at the same time, didn't seem like too much. He looked over in the direction of Sakura's bed and was once again surprised to find her sitting on it with a soft smile on her face, but what surprised him was the nervousness in her eyes.

He made his way over to her, removing his shoes as he did so and sitting next to her.

"Sakura–"

"I want to show you something."

As her hands reached for the hem of her dress, Gaara's breath caught in his throat. Was she showing him her scars, like that time he had allowed her to feel the one on his forehead? But… Why would she take her dress off instead of simply lifting her sleeves? Saying that, though, she was going to be getting changed for bed, anyway.

Noticing the shake in her hands, the nervous look in her eyes growing, he gently pushed her hands away and wordlessly, Gaara pulled her dress over her head, revealing to him a crimson bra with black lace that lifted her breasts ever so slightly with matching underwear (his favourite set!) before the bra was also removed. However, it wasn't him who removed it. It had been Sakura, making him inwardly frown. So it hadn't been her scars she wanted to show him? Or was she trying to distract him from noticing them? From the looks of things, she seemed more concerned about hiding her scars than her chest.

She fidgeted in front of him, her arms pressing to her thighs tightly once she realised the long sleeves of her dress were no longer hiding her scars. Even though Gaara had seen them once before, even though she had told herself she would show them to him again tonight, it made her heart leap up to her throat just thinking about him seeing them. Did they disgust him? Did they make him think she was weak?

Her questions were answered as Gaara lowered her backwards onto the bed and took her hands in his, raising them as he entwined their fingers before pinning them at each side of her head. "Don't feel like you have to hide yourself from me." he murmured against her lips before capturing them in a slow, short but sweet kiss. "They're a part of who you are, Sakura." Kissing his way over to her ear, he decided to take a chance. "…and I want all of you."

Sakura felt like her heart was melting. She wanted to say something, but she was scared of sounding cheesy or corny, like on those romantic movies she liked watching. Pulling her hands free of his and tugging at the hem of _his _shirt, Sakura removed it so that she wasn't the only one topless. He raised his arms for her, allowing her to remove it before it was thrown to the floor and he lowered himself against her once again, the feeling of their bare chests brushing against the other's making them feel as though their skin was tingling. "Then have me."

She gave him a shy smile when he pulled back to look at her, his eyes wide with uncertainty and shock. "But you–"

"Tsunade–sama taught me how to stop my mind from detaching." Sakura whispered, one of her hands running through Gaara's hair gently. "About a month or so ago and I've been… practising. I wanted it to be a surprise."

The time they had spoken to each other on the phone came to mind. What had she called it? Phone sex? Had she been 'practising' then, too? Another thought came to mind of the times when they had been intimate. Sakura's mind didn't automatically detach itself. Why hadn't he noticed sooner? Was it because he was too focused on trying not to hurt her? Or was it because he was too focused on his self–control, not wanting it to slip and have himself give in to her? It didn't matter. He was just glad that she would be happy now. Gaara knew that Sakura liked to be in control of–

Wait.

Practising, huh?

A devilish smirk graced Gaara's lips as he teased her with them, pulling back a little every time she tried to kiss him. "Practising?" The blush that swept over her cheeks had him chuckling before he lowered his lips to her ear, his next words making her shiver. "I could have helped you with that."

"Help me _now_, then."

He didn't have to be told twice.

Feeling his warm breath against her skin, moistening it, had Sakura's eyes fluttering closed, had her hands fisting in the sheets when she felt him moving lower and lower down her body. Her toes curled and a whimper passed through her lips when Gaara kissed her through her underwear, her eyebrows knitting together as she arched her back.

He removed her underwear slowly once he leaned back, sliding them smoothly down her legs, his eyes locked on hers the entire time before Gaara was lowering himself onto her once again. The way one of her legs hooked itself over his shoulder was almost instinctual, just like the way her hips bucked when he swiped his tongue over her. Once again, Sakura's hand found its way into Gaara's hair whilst her other hand ghosted over her own body. She could feel his eyes on her, could feel how intensely he was watching her as he continued to place heated kisses against her. It was obvious he had never done anything like this before, but Sakura didn't mind. Just knowing that it was him who was doing such things to her had her feeling as though she was melting.

And then, Gaara was pulling her impossibly closer, burying his face into her heated flesh as his tongue moved wildly. It almost drove Sakura insane as she let out high–pitched whimpers of pleasure, her hips squirming against him whilst her back arched and her hold on his hair tightened. It was like Gaara was a starving animal and was devouring her. And she loved every second of it. Wait… Were those his teeth? Sakura threw her head back, her mouth falling open but no sound coming out. Oh God… They _were_ his teeth! His was_ nibbling_ her! It should have been uncomfortable or hurt, but he was being so gentle and… and…

Already she could feel her orgasm creeping up on her, the feeling only intensifying when Gaara slipped two fingers inside of her. However, just when she felt herself about to fall over the edge, Gaara pulled away, ignoring her sound of protest as he moved back up her body, his bare chest brushing against hers. When he kissed her deeply, Sakura could taste herself, but it didn't disgust her. She tasted sweet.

He was stroking her again, slowly and sensually thrusting his fingers into her in time with their tongues as they caressed the other's. She sighed against his lips, her hips rocking against his hand and when she opened her eyes as they parted, her breath caught at the sight of Gaara. He was beautiful. His usually pale skin had a faint blush across his cheeks, his icy blue eyes seeming much warmer, yet darker at the same time – half–lidded yet wild with lust. They were almost a very, _very_, light green, but the blue was still dominant. His lips were parted, his breathing quick and hot as it washed over her.

Her previous near–orgasm was building once again, her walls beginning to tighten around his fingers, but once again, Gaara removed them before she could reach it.

"Gaara." she growled, though it sounded more like a purr.

And then she heard the zipper of his pants, heard the rustle of fabric that told her he was removing them. It made her heart pound, made her body tingle with anticipation. However, just as he moved back over her, making Sakura sigh when she felt she was no longer the only one completely naked, he hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

Sakura smiled softly as she ran her hand through his hair once again, looking up at him with so much love that it made his heart skip a beat, made his breath catch in his throat. "I'm sure." Pulling him down against her, she moved her lips to his ear, her teeth grazing his earlobe and making him shiver. "Make love to me, Gaara."

With one torturously slow thrust, he was inside of her and the feeling of him filling her, stretching her, had Sakura throwing back her head, had her gasping in his ear as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. Gaara held onto her tightly, not moving since he wanted to make this last, didn't want it to be over so quickly. Her walls were already tightening around him, though, making his breathing quicken and a thin layer of sweat covered him. Maybe working her up so much hadn't been such a good idea, especially considering how sensitive her body was…

It sounded awful, even to him, but Gaara hadn't expected Sakura to be so tight, not after everything that had happened to her.

When she felt Gaara trembling ever so slightly, Sakura realised that he was trying to put her pleasure before his own and as much as she wanted him to hurry up and move, she wanted his first time to be special. She wanted _their_ first time together to be special.

Lifting his head from the crook of her neck, Sakura pressed her lips to his, their tongues stroking each other's once again and slowly, unsurely, Gaara began to move his hips. His thrusts were out of time and a little awkward for a couple of moments as he tried to find rhythm but once he had found it, Sakura voiced how much she enjoyed it, whispering, panting, _moaning _his name in his ear whilst her hold tightened, her nails leaving red marks down his back and earning her a grunt of pleasure.

"_Fuck_." he moaned breathlessly into her ear, his voice sounding more like a growl.

It wasn't long until his hand was grabbing her hip, until he was dragging her impossibly closer and a wet slapping sound filled the room when his thrusts came faster, harder – and _oh God_ the way his hips kept knocking into hers made her feel almost dizzy with pleasure – telling Sakura that he was close, but it seemed he was holding on, waiting for her so that they could fall together.

And they did.

* * *

><p>She woke up warm, feeling more comfortable and relaxed than she had in a long time. There was the feeling of something pinning her down, but it didn't scare her like it should have. No, this something, this some<em>one<em>, had their head resting between her breasts with their ear over her heart, their even breath telling Sakura that they were asleep. She didn't even need to open her eyes to know that it was Gaara. It was only him who could make her feel this way, make her feel so at peace.

Her arms were already wrapped around him, refusing to let him go for even a second and their legs were entangled. You would think that it would be painful or uncomfortable having somebody sleeping on top of you, especially Gaara who had hit quite the growth spurt lately, but it wasn't. He was laying comfortably between her legs, his arms were against her sides, holding her almost as though she was a teddy bear. It was adorable.

This was exactly how they had fallen asleep, right after…

Sakura blushed, noticing that they were in _exactly_ the same position, with Gaara _still inside of her_.

"Stop staring at me."

Why wasn't she surprised that Gaara was actually awake? "I can't help it." she replied truthfully with a smile, her thumb stroking his neck softly whilst the other hand ran through his hair. "You're beautiful."

Gaara snorted before nuzzling against her, only to pause when he felt what part of her body his head was against and as hard as he tried to hide the effects her body had on him, Sakura felt him twitching to life. Hearing her sensually sigh, Gaara raised his head ever so slightly, looking at her curiously as he moved his hips forward against hers, watching as she closed her eyes and gasped, feeling that he was very much awake now.

Her soft hands smoothed over his back lovingly, taking her time to feel every muscle as Gaara began moving inside of her as though she was the most delicate, most precious being he had ever laid his eyes on. He was always so gentle with her now and she moaned breathlessly in his ear as he climbed over her body to get more comfortable and placed his head into the crook of her neck, pressing hot, open–mouthed kisses against it whilst inhaling her delicious scent that reminded him of the things they had done the night before.

A content sigh passed his lips as Sakura turned her head towards him, her lips brushing over his face, giving him slow, languid kisses and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips when Gaara stroked her sides affectionately, one of his hands making its way up her body until he was cupping her cheek, his thumb stroking her softly, fondly. Sakura bit her lip and her eyes slid shut just before Gaara ceased his thrusting to place a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips, catching her almost inaudible moan as he did so.

Whispering his name in soft sighs, she gently ran a foot up his calf, her hands continuing with running through his hair and over his back almost lazily whilst he placed another kiss against her lips before he started moving again, his thrusts sleepy, almost agonizingly slow and deep, the feeling making her sigh and moan quietly. The feeling between them had her heart fluttering and as he pressed affectionate kisses on her face, Sakura wrapped her other leg around his hip, trying to find some way to keep him with her, like she never wanted him to let her go.

She didn't. Not now, not ever.

He nudged her nose with his, making her smile as she kissed him, her hand that wasn't in his hair trailing its way up his back once more, grabbing his shoulder and trying to bring him impossibly closer to her. A groan escaped Gaara's lips as Sakura lifted her other leg high on his hip, as though she was trying to push him deeper inside of her. His eyes closed, his breath left him and it was almost instinctual how his hand grabbed her thigh, pulling it until it was wrapped around him much like her other leg was and neither could stop their breathy moans as he slipped in deeper. He opened his eyes again, wanting to see the girl beneath him.

Laying more open mouthed kisses against her sensitive skin, Gaara noticed her cheeks were flushed red, the sight of her making his eyes soften whilst he moved his leg upwards, immediately liking the new position as it was much more comfortable and in a way, it felt more intimate. He felt even closer to her, if that was possible.

Sakura cherished the gentle rocking of his hips, loved how he breathlessly whispered her name when he lowered himself fully against her, leaving not a single inch of space between their bodies. She liked that. She liked the feeling of his skin brushing against hers. Even though their bodies were slick with sweat, it didn't disgust her.

Smiling ever so slightly when he felt her fluttering around him, grasping at his length, Gaara increased his pace, feeling his own orgasm creeping up on him. He shifted his elbows ever so slightly, panting and nuzzling her neck as he languidly brought them to their climax. He heard a needy moan tear from her lips a second before her nails dug into his back. Having her do such a thing was strangely pleasurable, Gaara noticed. However a second later, the thought was wiped from his mind as he felt her beginning to fall undone around him.

When their orgasms claimed them, they weren't like how they had been last night. Last night had been like an explosion taking over their bodies and making them momentarily lose all senses except for feeling. This time they were slower, almost as intimate as their lovemaking as they gasped, sighed and moaned against each other's lips between kisses, their hips grinding against the other's tenderly and dragging out the feeling. Even when their climax had passed, they gently, affectionately, rocked together.

Gaara's eyes locked onto Sakura's and he couldn't help but stroke her cheek, his hand moving up until it was in her hair and cradling her head. Her eyes held pure bliss in them, a love so strong that it made him feel warm and content. It sounded cheesy, especially coming from him, but with Sakura, he felt whole. He felt like he mattered, like she needed him. And he loved her for it. Her imperfections were what made her so beautiful in his eyes.

"I love you." It came out without his permission and it took everything in him not to show his shock.

However, the sudden smile that was on her lips, the tears of happiness in her eyes, told him that she knew he meant it. It was the first time somebody she loved had told her that they loved her in return and truly meant it.

"I love you." she repeated, pulling him down to capture his lips in a tender kiss, only parting for air so that Sakura could once again whisper, "_I love you_."

_I love you._

* * *

><p><strong>AN - That last part, about the whole first time somebody she loved telling her they loved her back, is true, if you think about it. Yes, Naruto told her that he loved her, but she didn't return those feelings and Sasuke has never told her that he loves her. Gaara is the first one.**

**That last part wasn't even supposed to be in this chapter. I don't mean the whole "I love you" thing. I mean their second time. I was watching television with my mum and then BAM there was a sex scene, so me being me, I immediately felt awkward. It's stuck with me since then, unfortunately, and I had to write it down. Even though I felt incredibly awkward and didn't know where to look, it did seem quite intimate and not like the porn-style fucking you usually see nowadays! And then, I thought "I could so see Gaara and Sakura being that way with each other", so I decided to write it into this chapter, to make it seem more loving and tender.**

**I think you're all going to either love me or hate me for not only this chapter, but also chapter 52! I'm not saying there's sex in that chapter, I mean Sakura finally decides! It's about time, too.**

**Oh! I made an Instagram account. My username is HelennnnFF**

**One question! Me and my brother were arguing the other day about Gaara and his sand armour. He seems to think that, if Gaara wasn't wearing it, he would look completely different to how he does right now. I told him that he's stupid. Why the hell would Gaara change his appearance with his sand armour? Like he'd give a shit! But noooo. My brother _has_ to be right! Ugh. I could have thrown my phone at his head he annoyed me that much. Not that he said Gaara looks different under his sand armour, but because he kept going on and on about it. He kept calling Sakura useless, too. Yeah, she was back when she was a genin, but I don't think she's useless anymore! What a dick.**

**So yeah. Follow me on Instagram!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	50. Fight For Her

**Chapter 50 – Fight For Her**

When they woke up again, Sakura couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Last night, or early this morning, Gaara had told her that he loved her. _He loved her_. Just the memory had her heart beating faster, had her tightening her hold around him and nuzzling closer. As for Gaara, he had never felt what he was currently feeling before. He had never felt so relaxed and content.

They showered together, sharing soft and tender kisses as they cleansed each other's bodies. Gaara pulled her against him when they were both clean, wrapping his arms around her and simply held her. There was no longer anything separating them. They had now seen every side of each other and honestly, the feeling was like no other. No, it hadn't only been sex that changed that. It had been the emotional connection, the fact that Sakura was no longer hiding her scars or herself from him, how they both felt loved by the other.

After their shower, they went downstairs where Gaara cooked them breakfast. It surprised her that he could cook, but he had simply shrugged like it wasn't big deal. Although, he _had_ made a teasing comment about not trusting _her _cooking. Sakura pouted as she opened the back door for Ao and when he came back in, she gave him his breakfast.

The sound of the house phone ringing had Sakura growling with annoyance. She had been hoping that it would be only her and Gaara all morning! Grabbing the phone that was in the kitchen, Sakura watched Gaara as he made their breakfast and put it to her ear.

"Sakura speaking."

"_Sakura, it's Ino! What are you doing tonight?"_

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Ino? Uh… I don't know – one second." Covering the lower half of the phone, she asked Gaara, "Are we doing anything tonight?"

"Go out with Ino, Sakura." he told her with a small smile, knowing that she was really asking if he would mind if she did. "Maybe she wants to try and get to know the new you."

The look of happiness was bright in Sakura's eyes. "You really think so?" When he nodded once, she went back to her phone call. "Hey, sorry about that. I'm not doing anything tonight. What do you have planned?"

"_Great! There's this new club that I've been dying to check out_–"

"A club?" Sakura asked, her happiness slowly slipping away as her hold on the phone tightened. She also noticed how Gaara sent her an unsure look. "Ino… I don't think that's a good idea."

There was a sound of a sigh. "_Oh, come on, forehead! It'd be just like old times._"

That was what she was afraid of. "I…"

"_I promise I'll be on my best behaviour!"_ Ino pleaded and Sakura grimaced. It seemed she really wanted her to go out tonight.

Sakura chewed on her thumbnail for a second. If she went out with Ino, there would no doubt be alcohol involved. "I can't drink, Ino."

"_That's fine! You don't have to."_

Good, because Tsunade had warned her that it wouldn't mix well with her medication. She said that it would either cancel the effectiveness of it or make her ill. Not dangerously ill – it'd just make her throw up. Tsunade had said that it'd be like the worst hangover she had ever had times ten. Sakura inwardly shuddered, remembering how disgusting and awful she had felt when hungover. "Okay. Sounds like a plan. What time do you want me to meet you?"

"_Around nine. I'll send you the address through a text in a minute. Bye!"_

"Bye."

Sakura put the phone back in its place and sat down as Gaara placed breakfast in front of her. She could feel him watching her, but she didn't know what to say to him. After a couple of minutes of eating, he broke the silence. "Don't drink, Sakura." He knew that she couldn't drink? Seeing her confusion, Gaara sighed. "Your mother told me before that alcohol doesn't mix well with your medication and I don't want you to be ill."

She couldn't help but smile at him. It was nice having somebody to care for her the way Gaara did. Yes, she had quite a few people who took care of her and loved her, but not in the way Gaara did. Shuffling her chair over to his, Sakura pressed her lips to his cheek and smiled. "I won't drink."

Despite saying the words, Sakura still felt scared. What if Ino managed to talk her into drinking? She could always tell the blonde about her medication, but then Ino would feel bad for choosing a club. Or would she? Sakura shook the thoughts from her head. Yes, she would! Ino had been great these past couple of weeks. It didn't make up for all the times she hurt her, but at least she was trying.

Right?

* * *

><p>"What do you think about this one?"<p>

Gaara rolled his eyes and looked up at Sakura and the moment he did, he almost ripped the clothes off her and pinned her to the bed. She was wearing a long–sleeved cream blouse that was made out of a chiffon material and had a black studded collar and buttons. It was see–through, but she seemed to be wearing a bandeau over her bra and both were the same colour as the blouse. The blouse was tucked into a pair of _very_ short shorts. In fact, Gaara was certain that they were her underwear.

"Half of your ass is on show."

This time it was Sakura who rolled her eyes. "That's how the shorts are _supposed_ to look! I have about four other pairs from when Ino and I used to go out, but these ones suit the top better. They're called '_knicker–shorts'_."

"And how do you get into clubs since you're underage?"

She gave him a blank look before gesturing to her body. "How old do I look in this outfit? And there's always a little something called fake I.D."

He really didn't like the person Sakura used to be. She looked like the girl he loved but at the same time, she didn't. His Sakura would never do the things the old Sakura would. Not anymore, at least. Standing up from her bed, Gaara walked over to her and rested his hands on her hips, inwardly smirking at how she immediately shifted closer to him, how her hands held onto his biceps as though she was trying to keep him in place.

Lowering his lips to her ear, Gaara smiled when he felt her shiver. "How about one of the many pairs of jeans that are in your wardrobe?"

Sakura gave a breathy laugh as she tightened her hold on him. "Too much on show?"

His hands moved from her hips to her rear and whilst he wasn't one to do so, he gave a soft squeeze, effectively pulling her body closer to his at the same time. "Definitely."

"Gaara," she groaned, her arms snaking their way up his body until they were around his neck, "you're turning me on."

"Oh?" he asked with a smirk and before she could even react, he lifted her with ease and when she realised what had happened, Sakura wrapped her legs around his hips.

Just as she went to kiss him, however, they were moving and she was lowered once again to the ground on her feet. Looking around, Sakura groaned with annoyance when she realised where she was. Her wardrobe. Right in front of the jeans Gaara had been talking about. She glanced up at him through her eyelashes and smirked impishly, slowly pulling her shorts down her hips until they fell to the ground around her feet. Sakura didn't miss the heated look that flashed in his eyes and seeing it made her smirk widen into a sultry smile.

Giving him her back, Sakura bent over and picked the shorts up before standing up straight once again and placing them on the dresser. She'd sort them out later. She glanced over her shoulder at Gaara and raised an eyebrow at him, trying her best to hold back her grin when she saw how tense he was. What was that saying? _Don't play a game you have no chance of winning_ or something along those lines. What had he been expecting? After all, she had much more experience in this area than Gaara did. It wasn't something to be proud of, but it was the truth.

Not even bothering with her jeans, Sakura stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders once again. "What's wrong, _Gaara_?"

The way she said his name sent shivers up his spine. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

His hands were suddenly grabbing her hips, lifting her and placing her on the dresser just as his lips captured hers in fiery kiss that had her toes curling. She was panting for breath the moment they parted and she held onto Gaara tightly as he moved his kisses to her neck, as he ran his hands up and down her thighs. When Gaara made his way back up to her lips, Sakura met him in a kiss that had them battling for dominance, had her hands fisting in his hair as she arched into him and his hands tightening their hold on her thighs and dragging her closer, rolling his hips into hers.

"Ino."

Gaara frowned as he pulled back to look at her. "Did you just call me _Ino_?"

She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. It was a mixture between annoyance, confusion and disgust. "No, no!" Sakura told him in between giggles. "I need to meet her in like forty minutes and it'll take twenty–five to get there."

After one last kiss, Gaara stepped back to give her some room. Just as he opened his mouth to say something in response, however, his eyes widened almost comically as Sakura slipped off the dresser and removed her underwear before she searched through her drawers for another pair. Did… Did she seriously just do that? Was she seriously standing in front of him, wearing no underwear? She didn't even seem to care, either! It wasn't that Gaara was body shy, because he wouldn't care if it was him, but there was just something different about it being Sakura.

He quickly turned his back on her to give her some privacy.

"Gaara, did I leave my – what are you doing?"

Feeling her questioning gaze, Gaara risked looking over his shoulder and when he noticed she was now wearing underwear, he turned around fully. "You were getting changed."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "You've seen me completely naked."

"That's different."

"How?" she practically demanded with genuine confusion. How was it any different? "Would it have been different if I let you touch me?" At his blank stare, Sakura sighed. "I could hardly go out wearing underwear that are…" a blush graced her features, but she shoved aside her embarrassment. "That are wet. It's not exactly comfortable."

He blinked. He had _not_ been expecting her to say that but then again, she was a pretty blunt person. "…I see."

Grabbing a pair of black skinny jeans, Sakura shoved her legs through the leg–holes and shuffled them up her hips, gritting her teeth when they got stuck for a moment. It annoyed her how it took a whole minute to put on a pair of jeans, but she ignored it as she turned back to Gaara, who was looking rather amused at her struggle. "Gaara, I don't care if you see me naked. I'm comfortable around you." He sighed, making her eyes narrow. "Okay. So if it was the other way around, would you be uncomfortable?"

"You're taking this too seriously, Sakura." he told her calmly, allowing her to hold onto his arm and use him to keep her balance as she slipped on a pair of black heels. If the heels were two inches higher, she would have been eye level with him. "I was only giving you some privacy."

"And I appreciate that." she huffed, tucking in her blouse once again as she made her way over to her mirror, looking her outfit over. "But it's unnecessary." When Sakura walked out of her wardrobe, Gaara followed her, watching as she strutted over to her vanity table to glue on a set of false eyelashes. "Unless you're uncomfortable with seeing me naked?"

What was she even talking about? Gaara inwardly grimaced as he saw her putting the thick, black eyelashes over her own. How could she stand putting glue so close to her eyes? Didn't it burn or hurt when she removed the eyelashes? Once done with them, she added a little more eyeliner, even though he thought it was pointless. Yes, all of the dark make up around her eyes made them seem stunningly green, but why was she putting so much effort into going out? "I'm not uncomfortable with you being naked, Sakura." he told her, trying his best to ignore how the back of his neck was beginning to burn. "I just wasn't expecting you to do that."

Sakura honestly couldn't understand why he had turned away and for a split second, she had thought she had disgusted him somehow. Why else would he look away from her? Despite what people probably thought, she was comfortable with her body. She liked that her curves weren't dramatic, that her breasts weren't so big that they gave her back ache. The only thing she'd change was–

No. She wouldn't even have her scars removed if it was possible. They were a part of who she was. She wasn't proud of them, but they were there and they would always remind her of how bad things got. But not only that, they would also remind her of why she had to keep fighting. Positive thinking. That was what Tsunade told her. She had too much to live for and to give it all up now was to admit defeat. And damn it she hated losing!

Though, if what he was saying was true, that he had genuinely been surprised, then she couldn't really blame him for that, could she? After all, Gaara was still new to being intimate. Yes, they had touched each other before, but it wasn't until last night that they went further.

"Sorry for overreacting." Sakura told him as she reapplied her lip gloss. It worked to make her lips look shiny with only a faint tint of pink. "I just thought that you… hadn't liked what you saw."

No matter how hard she had tried to hide it, Gaara still heard the insecurity in her tone. No, it wasn't insecurity because Sakura was obviously comfortable in her own skin. What could it have been, then? Worry? Fear? Was she scared of rejection?

As Sakura stood up, she put on a pair of earrings. They were simple studs, though Gaara could tell that they were real diamonds. Were they yet another item she had bought whilst spending money recklessly? What he didn't know was that they were actually a gift from Itachi for her fifteenth birthday. Sakura would have put on the bracelet from Gaara, but she was wearing chiffon and it would most likely catch.

Gaara was surprised that Sakura could walk in her heels without a problem. The height of them was ridiculous and had to be at least five inches. Though he supposed that the platform helped, or did that make it harder to walk in them? The ankle boot heels were plain black and seemed to be made out of suede. He inwardly sighed. Sakura was going to end up breaking her neck in them. It was a good job she wouldn't be drinking.

"I did like what I saw, Sakura." he told her and once again his neck was burning. "That is why I turned away."

She blinked, turning from gathering her things into a simple black clutch to look at him. "…Really?" He nodded once and in response, a bright smile graced her features. It made him feel happy knowing that she was happy. "Do you mind giving me a ride on your way home? I mean, you can stay here if you want and wait for me to get home. I shouldn't be out too late since I'm not drinking. No later than midnight, I'd say – okay, maybe one o'clock at the latest. It depends on how much Ino drinks."

Walking over to her, Gaara frowned. "Why can't you drive yourself there if you're not going to be drinking?"

In answer to his question, she pointed down at her heels. "Not exactly the best shoes for driving, are they? What if I need to make an emergency stop, but my heel gets caught on something?"

"Then why do you wear them?" Gaara pretty much demanded, glaring down at her heels. "If they're so dangerous–"

"Because they're pretty and I like them." she answered simply with a shrug. "Now, are you going to give me a ride or do I have to call a cab?"

There wasn't a chance in hell that he was letting some strange man take her anywhere. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't want that, either. "Fine." Gaara replied. "Take your phone so that you can ring me when you want to be picked up."

"You sound like my dad." Sakura groaned, viciously shoving the thoughts of Gaara being her father _out _of her head. "Okay, so I take it you're staying here tonight?" When he nodded once, she smiled and stepped closer to him, her lips ghosting over his as her hands rested on his shoulders and his went to her hips. "Good, because I kind of like having you share my bed."

Gaara gave her that devilish smirk that never failed to make her heart skip a beat but just as he leaned down to kiss her, she placed her finger on his lips.

"You're not taking my lip gloss off _again_!" she told him playfully, pulling out of his hold and walking over to her door with a noticeable sway in her hips. When he didn't move, Sakura looked over her shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you just going to stand there all night?"

Rolling his eyes, Gaara followed her out the door and when they were downstairs, he picked up his car keys from the table near her front door. Maybe when he got back, he could take Ao for a walk. He had been on one already today, but there was no harm in taking him on another, was there? With that thought, Gaara opened the front door for Sakura and locked it behind him with her key.

* * *

><p>"You're so different." Ino stated as she signalled to the bartender. "It's kind of strange seeing you this way."<p>

Sakura simply smiled, not really knowing what else to say. When Ino had called her, asking if she wanted to come out, she had felt a mixture of different emotions. The first thing she had felt was shock. The second had been happiness and the third, suspicion. After all this time, why had Ino suddenly called her? Why had she asked her to come to a bar of all places? Yes, Ino had been looking out for her recently but she had never asked her to go out.

The music was loud and it made Sakura feel as though her body was on vibrate and her heart was in her throat. Through the flashing lights, she could see couples dancing (grinding) on the dance floor and others were already drunk despite it only being nine o'clock. It was a pretty decent club, if you asked Sakura. Sure the exterior wasn't much but the interior made it look dark and mysterious. It was no wonder why it appealed to Ino so much.

Before anything else could be said, an attractive bartender appeared before them. His brown hair was in his blue eyes and had a slight wave to it, giving him a younger look. Had this been before she disappeared, Sakura probably would have flirted with him. "How can I help you, ladies?"

"I'll have a Bloody Mary." Ino gave the man a charming smile.

When he turned to Sakura, the girl gave a polite smile. "Just a glass of lemonade please."

Ino raised a brow. "You're only going to have lemonade? Come on, forehead! At least have one drink."

"I don't drink anymore, pig."

"I won't tell anyone." she grinned before turning back to the man. "She'll have a double vodka and coke, please." When it seemed as though Sakura was about to protest, Ino quickly silenced her. "So how are things going with that guy?"

She rolled her eyes. "His name is Gaara."

"I knew that." The blonde waved her hand dismissively. "So how are things going between you both? I've seen you guys together around school, but never seen you actually _touching_. Well, except from that time at your house and that one time at school when, well, you know…"

To this, Sakura blushed softly, remembering other times when Gaara _had_ touched her and then blushed even harder when she remembered what had happened the night before. "Yeah… well…" she said rather awkwardly. "It's… it's complicated, you know?"

Once again, Ino raised a questioning eyebrow. Before she could say anything however, their drinks were in front of them, making her grin whilst paying the bartender. Grabbing her drink, Ino then continued with what she had been about to say. "No, I don't know. Care to explain?"

Sakura looked down at her drink with her uncertainty showing in her eyes. It had been a while since her last drink and there was good reason for that. When she drank, there were many possibilities as to what she would do, or, the personalities she would take on. Sometimes, Sakura would be violent and on many occasions, Naruto had been her victim. Other times, she would become a massive flirt, almost as bad as Ino. However, almost every single time she was drunk, at one point during the night, she would spill her guts, tell all of her secrets and almost always emotionally break down, depending on what she was talking about. Sasuke was usually the one who had to put up with her when she was like that.

Was it really worth it? Sakura bit her lip. It was only one drink! Surely she could handle it? Really, there was only one way to find out. Taking the glass in her hand, Sakura brought it up to her lips and sipped. It didn't taste all that different from last time and honestly, she now felt stupid for making such a big fuss. "You were there that day in Sarutobi–sama's office." Sakura spoke over the thumping music as she placed down her drink. "There's not only Gaara that I have feelings for, but also Sasuke."

For a brief second, pain flashed across Ino's features before she gave Sakura a smile. "Well just think about it this way, if you were really in love with Sasuke–kun, you wouldn't have fallen in love with Gaara."

'_What the hell does she know_?' Sakura thought irritably as she once again took another sip of her drink. How would Ino know how she felt? Sometimes even Sakura didn't know how she felt! "It's more complicated than that, Ino." she said seriously, glaring down at her drink. "I have always had feelings for Sasuke, but now I have them for Gaara, too and I… I don't want to lose either of them. They've been there for me when I really needed them."

This time, it was guilt that flashed across Ino's face as the blonde quickly looked down at the bar to avoid Sakura's pained expression. Her hand lifted to scratch the eye hidden under her fringe, something she did sometimes when she felt the urge to fidget. "I know." Ino finally answered, looking up and giving Sakura another smile. "Let's change the subject – this one is far too depressing! I invited you out because I told you I'm willing to try and be your friend again. Even if we can't be best friends like we used to be, I want to at least be your friend. I've kind of missed having your big ass forehead by my side."

"I've missed you too, pig." Sakura chuckled softly before raising her glass to Ino. Vodka and coke wasn't usually a drink you would use, but it sufficed. "To trying."

Ino giggled as she raised her own glass. "And getting over the past."

At the thought of her past, Sakura brought the glass to her lips and took a large gulp, not caring if she didn't look ladylike. Her past was something she seriously did not want to remember. So before Ino could continue with the subject, Sakura grinned. "So what's going on with you and Sai?"

Like she had been expecting, Ino's eyes brightened at the mere mention of the boy's name before she immediately began to talk.

* * *

><p>It was only supposed to be one drink.<p>

Sakura frowned softly as she pressed a hand to her head. It seemed that over time, her tolerance for alcohol had diminished greatly. She couldn't remember how many drinks she had had, but Sakura knew for a fact that it hadn't been any more than ten. In the past, she would have been able to drink double that amount and wouldn't be anywhere near as affected as she was right now.

"He's pretty big, isn't he?" When there was no answer, the blonde growled. "You know, if you don't keep a close eye on Gaara, I'm going to take him. Who wouldn't want a boyfriend with a dick that–"

The sudden glare she received startled Ino, but that wasn't what worried her. It was the fact Sakura looked as though she was about to throw up or pass out.

"Hey, Sakura," Ino slurred, "you don't look so good. Are you okay?"

"Mm." she hummed, dropping her hand to the table with a harsh bang. "Jus… I think… I need fresh air."

Ino nodded and stood up, only taking a couple of seconds to regain her balance. When she was okay, she helped Sakura stand. "Come on. I'll ring someone for you."

A strange smile appeared on Sakura's lips, making Ino warily glance down at her. Just like Sakura, she had noticed how the pink haired girl's tolerance for alcohol wasn't what it used to be. It didn't surprise her though, especially after earlier that night when Sakura had tried to turn down her drinks like they were poison, but Ino had been insistent on her drinking them so that she could loosen up and relax. Even after everything she had done to Sakura, and the things Sakura had done to her, she would never let anything happen to her.

"Oi, pig…" Sakura shouted over the music, leaning in closer and Ino couldn't stop the automatic shiver that went through her body as warm breath washed over her neck. "Ring Gaara."

Damn her! Sakura knew how sensitive her neck was and by the giggle that suddenly came from her, it had been intentional, too. If Sakura hadn't been so wasted, Ino would have retaliated, but right now, she was more concerned with getting them both out of there, since there were now a couple of guys smirking in their direction. That was the downside about going out and getting drunk without any of your guy friends around to look after you. Some of the guys in the clubs were desperate animals that would do anything to get in your pants!

"C'mon, forehead!"

The blonde groaned, wrapping an arm around Sakura's waist when they finally reached the door. The bouncer opened it for them, watching them warily as Ino stumbled out of the club, her hold on Sakura almost painfully tight so that they didn't get separated. Or, considering how they were both wearing high heels and Sakura was wasted (Ino herself was only tipsy, but still), it looked more like they were trying to keep the other from falling over.

"Here," she huffed, leaning Sakura against the cool wall, "just stay there. Where's your phone?"

The cold air made her dizziness fade ever so slightly, but the effects of the alcohol she had consumed was still strong. Squinting, Sakura patted her body blindly before giggling to herself, remembering that her phone was in her bag, but just as she was about to open the clutch, there was a sigh before Ino's hands beat her to it. It took her only half of the time that it would have taken Sakura and the latter couldn't help but smile goofily when she noticed that Ino still knew her well enough to know that she kept her phone in the zipped up pocket of her bag.

Sakura didn't pay attention to the phone call or how Ino smiled at the picture that appeared when she pressed Gaara's name to call him. It was a sweet picture, after all and it always made Sakura smile whenever she saw it.

They could still hear the music from inside the club, which grew louder every now and then when the doors open and shut. Other than the odd drunks, the street was empty.

Ino stepped closer to Sakura when she noticed two of the guys from inside of the club appear, smirking to each other when they immediately spotted them. Not for the first time, Ino wondered to herself why the hell Sakura had to have pink hair. Of course she knew it was natural, but why wouldn't she dye it? Ino shook her head. If Sakura dyed her hair, then she wouldn't be… Well, she wouldn't be Sakura anymore. Besides, her hair was pastel pink, not hot pink. It wasn't as noticeable as those brighter colours.

"Hey, ladies." one of the men slurred, appearing to be the more confident of the pair.

She wouldn't say that they were ugly, but they weren't the best looking guys she had ever seen before. No, whenever Ino now thought of the word attractive, a pale face would come to mind, as would dark hair and eyes. Sai… Ugh! Why did he have to be such a clueless jerk? It was a shame because he could be so sweet when he wanted to be, like when Ino had needed comforting after Sakura's secret had been revealed. He had stayed with her for hours even though she knew that he must have had better things to do.

Looking at the men before her now, Ino guessed that they were around twenty, though the one of the right could have passed for twenty–five due to how heavy lidded his eyes were and his already greying hair. They were both dressed casually, although to the blonde, the fully black outfits didn't work as much on them as it did on Sai.

"Fuck off." Sakura suddenly hissed at them, surprising them all with her anger.

Ino looked over at Sakura warily. What the hell was happening? One moment Sakura was staring down at the ground, her eyebrows knitting together and now, she was glaring at the two guys like she wanted to rip their heads off of their shoulders! Was this what being bipolar was like? Or was it just the alcohol? Ino couldn't help but feel sorry for Sakura. She couldn't even begin to imagine how confusing it must be to feel so many different emotions and having such sudden mood swings.

"Oh come on," the second man chuckled, smirking at them both as his eyes dragged up and down their bodies, "we only wanna talk."

"More like you want a fuck." Sakura snapped in return, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. "We're not interested."

Once again, Ino couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. No, it didn't take a genius to know what they were thinking and what they wanted to do, but this… Ino didn't even know how to describe it. The look in Sakura's eyes, beneath all of her anger… she was scared. It made her chest give an uncomfortable squeeze. She was terrified, yet still standing strong and refusing to look intimidated, even if she was.

The first man stepped forward, the lustful gaze in his eyes making Ino feel sick. Was this what Sakura had had to put up with when she disappeared? "I think there's been a huge misunderstanding," he lied to them, "why don't we go back to my place and have a drink, hm? We'll make it up to you both."

Just as Sakura raised her fist, a pale hand grabbed her wrist, making all of their eyes widen at his sudden appearance. At the sight of Gaara, Sakura grinned and would have thrown her arms around him, had he not been glaring at the two men who were now looking more than a little unnerved.

"Back off." he practically spat.

"Oh, yeah?" the second man demanded, trying to not look Gaara in the eyes. "And why should we? Are they too good for us or something?"

"Yes." Gaara muttered, ignoring the look of shock Ino sent his way and the way Sakura fiddling with his jacket zip. "Now fuck off before I make you."

And just like that, they left.

Gaara rolled his eyes at their cowardice before turning to face the two standing behind him. Well, Sakura was at his side and still leaning against the wall, but same difference. He had set off from Sakura's place the minute he hung up the phone.

"Gaara!" Sakura beamed, but this time she also threw her arms around his neck, surprising Gaara as she pulled him to her. Behind him, Ino was forgotten as he had to place his hands on each side of Sakura's head to keep himself from smashing into her and crushing her against the wall. "It always turns me on when you act all tough like that." His eyes widened as he tried to pull back, but Sakura wouldn't allow that and instead arched into him, her chest brushing against his. "Make love to me, Gaara. I love feeling you inside me."

This time, he put more force into pulling away and prying her hands from him, looking down at Sakura with confusion. "Here? Against the wall outside of a club?" She giggled and nodded and when Gaara noticed the glassy look in her eyes as well as the fact that he could smell alcohol on her breath, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he spun around to face Ino, whose eyes were wide since she had heard their small conversation. "Is she _drunk_?"

Ino nodded, frowning at the worry in Gaara's eyes. Why was it such a bad thing if Sakura had a couple of drinks? She wouldn't let anything bad happen to her! She and Sakura had always had each other's backs when they were out drinking. "Yeah."

Turning back to face Sakura, he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes, though he immediately regretted it as he spotted the lust in them, making her eyes much darker than what the usually were. When Ino asked him what he was doing, Gaara glanced over his shoulder at her. "Sakura isn't supposed to drink alcohol because it doesn't mix well with her medication and cancels the effectiveness of it."

The blonde gasped, guilt flooding her as she remembered how Sakura kept pushing away drinks, how wary she had been about drinking them when Ino managed to get her to. "I–I didn't know…" she whispered, her eyes wide. "Will she be okay?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he grabbed Sakura and turned around fully in the direction of his car. "I don't know. Mebuki said she would get sick, though I'm not sure how badly." He looked over at Ino when she didn't move, biting her lip as she glanced this way and that, like she didn't know what she was doing. "Are you coming or not?"

"You're offering me a ride?" Ino asked, sounding shocked. "After everything I've done?"

It wasn't like he could just leave her there. What if those men came back? Sakura would never forgive him if something happened to Ino. "Just get in the car."

Nodding, Ino followed them, smirking to herself when she saw Sakura's hands wandering over Gaara's body, trying to pull his clothes off him or slip into his pants, which earned her a mild glare from the redhead who kept swatting her hands away, even though they didn't stay away for long. "You're best off putting her in the back," Ino warned him when they reached the car, "because she's either going to pass out or give you a blowjob while you're driving and no offence, but I don't feel like dying tonight… though I wouldn't mind seeing your dick again."

Gaara sent her a much fiercer glare than the ones he had been giving Sakura, but Ino didn't see it as she opened the door for him, watching and smiling as he gently placed her into the back seat, buckling her seatbelt like Sakura was a child. And when he stood up straight again, Ino's smile grew. That look in his eyes… He really cared for Sakura, didn't he? It made her feel strangely happy at the thought of her friend having somebody like him.

The drive was silent to Ino's house and just like she had told him, Sakura had passed out not long after Gaara had put her in the back. Looking over the seats to make sure Sakura was definitely asleep (and inwardly snickering when she saw that the girl had the side of her face pressed up against the window, hair dishevelled and eyeliner smudged around her eyes), a determined look entered her blue eyes and she turned back to face the windscreen, watching the road disappearing under the car. When they came to a stop outside of her house, she didn't immediately get out, earning her a confused look from the redhead.

"Take care of her." Ino spoke so softly that, for a moment, Gaara was almost certain that she hadn't said a word, but then she started talking again. "I know I haven't been the greatest friend," she rubbed her forehead, forcing back her tears as she remembered everything she had done and said to not only Sakura, but also to him, "I've been such a bitch to her all this time and I–" Ino cut herself off, finally looking up at Gaara and meeting his gaze with sad, pained eyes. "I really hope that she chooses you, you know. Yeah, I don't know you so I can't really say any of this, but I can see that look in your eyes when you look at her. You really care about Sakura and I know for a fact that Sasuke–kun will never love her as much you do – he cares too much about being better than everyone else. You haven't left her side once."

Looking out of the window at her house and avoiding Gaara's eyes, she sighed, preparing herself to do something she hadn't done in a long time. "I'm really sorry for how I acted at the New Year's Eve party." This time, she couldn't stop the single tear that fell and she tried to wipe it away before he noticed. When Ino spoke again, her voice was slightly higher, shaky and a little quicker. "A–And every time before and after that. I was b–bitter and… _jealous_ and…" her face scrunched up, like she was trying not to sob. "I am so, _so_ sorry!"

"Sakura always said that you're an emotional drunk."

Shocked and maybe a little pissed off, Ino turned to face him, only for her look of anger to melt away at the small smile he was giving her. It was because of how much time she had spent around Sai that Ino had leaned how to read the differences in people's expressions. Gaara's eyes and smile said it all: she was forgiven.

She smiled in return, wiping under her eyes once again before looking over the seat to glance at Sakura, who was still sleeping. "Don't let her go without one hell of a fight, Gaara." Ino told him, a soft smile on her lips as she turned to face him again, though her expression soon turned serious. "Sasuke–kun will do whatever he has to, to keep her, but I know that Sakura will be happier with you and she deserves to be happy. You _both_ do."

With that, she got out of the car, slamming the door shut with unnecessary force and grinning when Sakura startled awake, the sight of her confused and bleary eyes making Gaara sigh. At least she wouldn't be begging him to have sex with her again (not that he was complaining, he just didn't want to make love to her whilst she was drunk).

Once Sakura climbed into the front seat, giving him a nervous, guilty smile, Gaara once again sighed and shook his head before setting off in the direction of Sakura's house.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I proved my brother wrong, by the way! Showed him the picture of Gaara and Lee's fight, didn't I? Thank you Mary Mab, aria206 and StarKiss666! He didn't say much after I proved him wrong. I think he's still sulking.**

**Dino, I hope this chapter is more to your liking? I mean, with Ino involved. The others will be involved, too, but try to keep in mind that time isn't moving forward by that much. In this story, it's either the end of February or the beginning of March. I'll try and include more characters, though and work on it! Thank you for your honest opinion. Sasuke is giving her space, like he had given himself some space. Like I mentioned in chapter forty-seven, he knows that he can't be the one to comfort Sakura. He always ends up saying the wrong thing and hurting her even more.**

**OH I HAVE A SURPRISE.**

**Well, it's not really a surprise considering the fact that I mentioned it not that long ago, but I've finally finished this story. Seventy chapters long with quite a few surprises for you all! I was sat on my laptop at about three/four in the morning, staring at the end like "have I seriously just finished this? What am I supposed to do now?" o.O**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	51. Wherever You Will Go

**Chapter 51 – Wherever You Will Go**

"Please!"

"No."

"_Please_!"

"No."

Sakura groaned as she stared up at Gaara, who was glaring down at her with his arms folded over his chest. Since returning, he had soon discovered that Sakura _was_ still drunk and her small nap hadn't sobered her up in the slightest. In fact, just like Ino had warned him, she had tried to seduce him whilst he had been driving. Fortunately, however, they had already been at her house before anything could happen. If they hadn't, Gaara was certain he would have crashed his car and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

But it wasn't sex that he was currently saying no to. When they had entered Sakura's bedroom, she had gone straight over to her docking station and put some music on and since her parents were away for the entire weekend, she had it on loud. It wasn't really the type of music he listened to, but he wouldn't deny that there were some good songs. The song that was currently playing was Aerosmith – I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.

What he was saying no to, was dancing.

"Please dance with me?" she practically begged. "Like you did at the New Year's Eve party!"

Once again, Gaara shook his head and in response, Sakura's eyes narrowed. Just when he thought she had given up, however, she did the last thing he expected her to do. She undressed slowly and sensually, teasing him. Not completely, just down to her underwear. Unlike the night before, her lingerie wasn't matching, but that hardly mattered to Gaara, especially not as she started swaying her hips in time with the music, sending him a sultry smile that had him inwardly groaning. That look of hers should be classed as a weapon.

She ran her hands through her hair, the simple task seeming so much more arousing than what it was supposed to. Again, however, she received no response.

Not knowing what else to do, she closed the distance between them, giving him a genuine smile as she wrapped her arms around Gaara's shoulders. It was automatic how his hands rested on her hips, making him roll his eyes when she grinned victoriously. As Sakura began to sway to the music, he didn't stop her. Despite being drunk, she seemed to be having a good time and she was happy. Could he really take that away from her? No.

He loved her smile. Lifting his hand from her hip, he cupped her cheek softly and leaned down, kissing her tenderly and it was like her smile was infectious as Gaara couldn't help but smile in return.

"See? There's nothing wrong with dancing." Sakura whispered between kisses.

Gaara didn't reply and instead simply pressed his lips to hers again before pulling away. As much as he enjoyed kissing her, he didn't like the taste of alcohol.

Suddenly, the song ended, making Gaara blink in surprise at the song that it changed to. He did _not _expect Sakura to listen to songs such as the one that was currently playing. It was a dance song – well, it was listed as R&B. Gaara wasn't sure what the name of the song was, but he had heard Temari listening to it a few times. Blurred Lines, he thought.

The smirk Sakura sent him was impish as she turned around in his arms and as she reached behind her, locking him in place, Gaara's eyes widened, especially as she started moving her hips in time with the music. It wouldn't have bothered him much if she hadn't been grinding right into his hips. His eyes narrowed. Was she trying to continue their little game from earlier that evening? Gaara's hands once again came to rest on her hips as he pulled her impossibly closer, kissing her neck and jaw heatedly, making her close her eyes and release a soft sigh.

As the next song played, Gaara inwardly groaned with annoyance. He had thought Sakura's taste in music was good! What the hell was this shit? Nicole Scherzinger?

"Don't say a word." Sakura breathed, her hold on him tightening as she increased the pace to match the song. "Ino told me to buy it so that we could dance to it. I forgot I even had it on my iTunes account."

He didn't want that image in his head. Considering the lyrics (they were telling him to put his hands on her body!), Gaara could guess what kind of dancing they did together.

Realising how it sounded, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of dancing. More like… twerking."

Like _that_ was any better!

They were both panting when the next song came on and Gaara tried his best to ignore a certain problem that he was having, but it was difficult since Sakura was pressing her ass against it and _grinding against it_, causing shocks of pleasure to flash up and down his spine. Not to mention she was making sounds that sounded an awful lot like very faint moans. Damn it! How did he get himself into this? At least this song wasn't too bad. Undisclosed Desires by Muse. And despite being breathless, Sakura was singing along to the song. He liked it when she sang. Even though she didn't have the best singing voice, it was still nice.

She stilled against him suddenly, cutting off in the middle of a word and for a moment, she simply stood there, seeming unsure what to do before she ran towards her bathroom, only just making it in time to throw up into the toilet. Gaara grimaced as he heard her whimpering between retching. His feet were moving in an instant until he was standing by her side and holding back her hair, trying not to breathe in the smell of her vomit. After opening the window above them, not sure what else to do, he rested his hand on her back, awkwardly rubbing it. Gaara wasn't too sure, but he could have sworn that Sakura laughed once at him before she was throwing up again.

It wasn't long until whining reached his ears, but Gaara didn't need to look in the direction of the door to know that it was Ao.

"You don't have to stay." Sakura groaned when she finally stopped being sick. He released her hair as she moved over to the sink, brushing her teeth before rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash. "I have a feeling I'll be like this all night."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I'm not leaving you when you're sick."

She blinked in surprise, turning to face him. "You're not?"

Why did it surprise her so much? Had nobody stayed with her before when she was sick? He had never been sick so nobody had ever had to stay with him and even if he had been, Gaara would have demanded to be left alone. That was just who he was. Sakura, however, hated to be alone.

"No." he told her as he walked out of the bathroom with her right behind him.

"…Thanks." Sakura said softly and when Gaara turned to face her, he was surprised by the look in her eyes. He didn't know what sort of expression she was wearing, but it was warm.

And then she was stripping again.

Apparently she had a lot of sobering up to do. Since she had already been in her bra and underwear, Sakura had completely stripped down as she made her way into the wardrobe. Gaara sighed and dressed down, catching the pair of drawstring pants that Sakura threw to him from her wardrobe. He had no idea how much of his clothing he had in there, but he was certain that she had bought him a few items, probably checking the clothes that were in her wardrobe for his size.

When Sakura reappeared, she was cleaning her face with a makeup wipe and wearing a pair of grey short shorts with a white long–sleeved top. It wasn't because she was hiding herself from him, though. It was most likely because nearly all of her tops and things such as those were long–sleeved now. Switching off the music, Gaara tried to ignore the way her pyjamas stuck to her body like a second skin and how the shorts were almost as bad as the ones she had been trying on earlier that evening. His problem had disappeared for now and since she was sick, he didn't want it coming back until she was better.

* * *

><p>Sakura had been right. During the night, she got up several times to be sick until she eventually gave up trying to sleep and instead stayed in the bathroom. It had made him feel utterly useless since all he had really done was get her a bottle of water to stay hydrated and hold her hair back before she put it back in a sloppy ponytail, telling him to get some rest. How was he supposed to sleep when she was ill? He didn't like the thought of her being alone when she was ill. It reminded him so much of how he had felt when he was left alone growing up. He had needed somebody to take care of him whilst growing up, but other than spoiling him, nobody had anything to do with. Sakura needed him to take care of her now. He <em>was<em> going to take care of her now, no matter what she said.

So, because it was obvious neither of them would be getting any sleep that night, he had turned her television stand around so that the television would be facing them and put on one of her favourite movies. Also, to make them more comfortable, he had grabbed two spare blankets and two pillows, leaning the pillows up against the bath that was in the centre of her bathroom. Gaara placed one of the fleece blankets on the tiled floor, using the other one to wrap around them. They were close enough to the toilet in case she needed to be sick again and since he had brought the television closer, they could see almost perfectly.

Halfway through the night, around four in the morning, Sakura fell asleep with her head on his lap and Gaara running his hand through her hair. It was such a relaxing feeling, one she never wanted to end. If she could, she would pause the moment between them.

When it seemed like the worst of her sickness had passed, Gaara carefully lifted her and carried her over to her bed. It wouldn't be comfortable for either of them to sleep on the bathroom floor, though he would have done so if she had still been sick. Sakura mumbled in her sleep as he placed her down on the bed, but otherwise showed no sign of waking up. Just in case the urge to throw up came back, he grabbed a basin that was in the cabinet under her sink and placed it on the table beside her bed, putting it in her line of view.

As he had been getting the basin, however, something stole his attention, making his eyes widen and his breathing stop. Her birth control tablets. How the hell had he forgotten about contraception the night before? What if Sakura hadn't been on the pill? He knew for a fact that he hadn't worn a condom or pulled out last night, because the feeling of filling her with his seed had been extremely pleasurable for the both of them. Gaara took a deep breath. There was no point in freaking out, was there? She _was_ taking birth control and she was a smart girl. If she hadn't been on the pill, Sakura would have stopped him. At least, Gaara hoped that she would have. He was most definitely not ready to be a father. Would he ever be?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Gaara slipped into bed beside her, not bothering with turning the television stand back around since it was too late, Sakura was asleep and he was exhausted. Within seconds, he was asleep.

* * *

><p>She woke up feeling warm and dizzy and had the worst headache imaginable. It felt like Ao was sitting on her head and refusing to move. Tsunade hadn't been exaggerating, had she? Sakura didn't even dare open her eyes, let alone sit up! Her throat was incredibly dry, too. Damn! She hadn't felt this bad in a <em>long <em>time and Sakura made a mental note to pay Ino back for the pain she now had to endure.

Finally daring to open her eyes, she slowly did so, but quickly shut them once again and groaned. Why hadn't she closed her curtains the night before? It was too damn bright!

"So you're finally awake?"

Sakura grimaced as she remembered how she had acted the night before. "Unfortunately." she whispered, not daring to speak any louder. "Will you do me a favour and shut the curtains please?"

The bed shifted and Sakura breathed through her nose, trying to push away the dizziness that suddenly hit her. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but that was probably because it had only been Gaara getting out of bed. If it was her getting out of bed… Sakura inwardly shuddered. There was not a chance in hell that she was moving today.

Hearing the curtains being shut, Sakura slowly and unsurely opened her eyes, trying to ignore the urge to simply close them again and go back to sleep. And then, when Gaara made his way over to her television to turn it back around, she inwardly whimpered and prepared herself for the noise of the stand scraping against the wood. Sakura would have told him to simply leave it, but she knew that later on, when she was feeling a little better, she'd want to watch it. It surprised her as barely any scraping reached her ears, making her look at Gaara questioningly only to see that he was lifting it as much as possible so that the sound didn't hurt her.

She smiled softly to herself. It was nice having Gaara look after her and her smile only widened when he went over to her fridge, grabbed two bottles of water and made his way back over to her, giving her one of the bottles.

"I took Ao out for a walk this morning," he told her as he got back into bed, "and I fed him, too."

How could that _not_ make your heart melt? He was pretty much doing her chores. Well, looking after Ao wasn't exactly a chore since she enjoyed doing it, but still. "Thanks. What time is it?"

"Two in the afternoon."

Well, damn. It wasn't the latest she had slept in, but recently it was. Since returning home from the psychiatric hospital, Sakura had always woken up before eleven in the morning – noon at the latest! Gaara was an early riser, too. How long had he been awake for? She felt bad for sleeping in and leaving him to look after her dog for her. That was probably what Sakura hated most about hangovers – sometimes, they made you absolutely useless!

"Do you want anything?"

Sakura glanced up at him as she sat up, willing the lightheaded feeling to disappear. After a couple of minutes, it did. "I should probably eat but right now I don't think I'd be able to keep it down." Pausing to sip some water, Sakura sighed. "I can't take my medication without having a full stomach."

Gaara frowned. That honestly didn't sound right to him – it never had, really. Her medication was for bipolar disorder, wasn't it? So why would she need to eat something first? Then, it hit him. Sakura had tried to starve herself before. No, he didn't think she would do it again, but Tsunade and Sakura's parents were probably just being cautious. That way, they would know that she had eaten at least one full meal since Sakura knew how important her medication was.

Did Sakura have an eating disorder? Gaara inwardly frowned to himself as he looked over at her. There were times when Sakura had complained that it felt like she couldn't eat, but that had been during one of her bipolar episodes and it seemed to be over now – it had been a manic episode, he reminded himself. No. Gaara was certain that Sakura didn't have an eating disorder, just in case, though, he'd stick to Tsunade's plan.

"Finish the water first and then wait an hour." Gaara told her as he settled in beside her. "If you can keep it down, I will make you something to eat."

"And if I can't?"

Gaara glanced over at her. "What happens if you miss your medication for one day?"

She bit her lip. Honestly? Sakura had no idea. Most of her time in the hospital had been a blur other than when they had restrained her, so she couldn't really remember what had happened when she stopped taking her medication and hid the pills. "I'm not sure." she answered truthfully after taking another sip of water. "All I know is that they balance my moods. Wait! Tsunade–sama… She said something before. Uh," Sakura frowned and closed her eyes as she tried to remember, "I think… I think she said that she didn't recommend me missing a single day. No… actually I think she meant not to stop taking them without hers or Shizune–san's permission."

When Sakura groaned with annoyance and rubbed her forehead, Gaara sighed. "Drink your water."

There was no way he was going to risk her skipping a day of taking her medication. What if she got into the habit of missing a day every so often? Or what if Sakura suddenly decided that she didn't need to take her medication? Like Mebuki would let that happen! But then again, Sakura had managed to trick a psychiatric hospital into thinking she had been taking the pills when really, she had been storing them up. Gaara watched her silently for a couple of moments before looking down at the bottle in his hands. He really hoped she wouldn't try anything like that again. Sakura meant too much to him. If Gaara had to remind her of that every day, if he had to make her feel loved and special every day, then he would do it. Just as long as Sakura never tried to hurt herself or try to take her own life again. He wasn't sure what he would do without her.

* * *

><p>Two hours later they decided that Sakura was ready to try and eat something. Gaara had gone downstairs to make them both something to eat, telling her to stay in bed since she really didn't seem that well. However, that wasn't the only reason. Before she and Kazashi had left for the weekend, Mebuki had told him where Sakura's medication was hidden. Apparently Sakura wasn't allowed to know until the suicide watch was over and they were all certain she wouldn't try anything. It made his chest feel strange knowing that Sakura wasn't trusted with her own medication.<p>

Thinking it best to keep her meal bland and small, Gaara got to work. Kankuro often told him that the best cure for a hangover was to have a greasy, large breakfast, but he honestly didn't think Sakura would be able to stomach the smell of it, let alone eat it. It had taken her a while to simply sit up without almost throwing up!

Gaara looked around the kitchen and frowned to himself. Somebody else had always cooked his meals but on the odd chance of everybody being out and not wanting to depend too much on his family, he had learned to cook for himself. However, he didn't really know what food was considered bland. Yes, Gaara knew things such as pasta and rice and plain chicken were bland, but what about foods that were for breakfast? Then again, it was around half four in the afternoon.

Fifteen minutes later, Gaara was making his way back up the stairs with two plates filled with jacket potatoes and beans and a small bowl with grated cheese. He wasn't sure if Sakura would want any or not. It was all easy to carry thanks to the tray he had seen Mebuki use quite a few times. Also, there were already drinks in Sakura's room, so he hadn't needed to bother with them.

The way Sakura looked at him as he entered the room made him smirk. Did she know that she was blushing? Actually, _why_ was she blushing?

Sakura looked down at the sheets covering her legs as she bit back a smile. Her heart was fluttering again and the butterflies in her stomach were back. The latter wasn't something she was happy about because she was still pretty badly hungover and they were unsettling her stomach. Seeing Gaara acting in such a way, though… Again, Sakura had to fight back a smile. This was definitely something she wouldn't mind happening over and over again. Not the hangover part, but the part where Gaara was simply there for her and doing whatever he could to take care of her.

"Thanks." she told him softly as she took a hold of the tray, watching Gaara as he went back over to the door to shut it the moment Ao entered and sat at the foot of her bed.

He shrugged as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed them both a drink before joining her on the bed, passing her the television remote to put something on. Since she had woken up, they had been laying together in silence because of her having a headache, but Sakura had told him that it wasn't as bad as it had been, now.

Other than the quiet sound of the television, they ate in silence. Sakura took small bites of her food and was grateful that Gaara hadn't made something greasy. After Sakura had taken her medication, they left the tray and empty plates on her desk and watched her favourite show together, Supernatural.

With her head resting on his chest, Sakura smiled as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. She liked it when he played with her hair. Well, it wasn't exactly playing, more like running his fingers through it or pushing stray pieces behind her ears. Closing her eyes and sighing, Sakura placed a soft kiss against his chest and snuggled closer to him. She felt him pause for a moment before he continued. Being held by Gaara was something Sakura _adored_. Not including her father, the only other man to hold her without any expectations was Itachi and that was because he thought of her as a sister. Gaara loved her in a romantic way. It was a completely new experience to her and she was loving every second of it.

But just as she thought that, Sasuke's face filled her mind and she instantly felt awful. What was she going to do? He had been acting so differently lately and not in a good way. The last thing she had ever wanted was for him to act differently around her. Sakura missed the old Sasuke. She missed the Sasuke who looked out for her and she missed their friendship. Yes, Sakura knew that he looked out for her now, but it wasn't in the way he used to. The way he was currently looking out for her felt nothing like the Sasuke she had fallen in love with and she had nobody but herself to blame. It was her fault why he had changed. She had hurt him. That wasn't something she would do ever again.

What the hell was she thinking? She was hurting him right now! Every day that went by and they didn't speak, every minute she spent with Gaara, hurt Sasuke. But what was she supposed to do about that? When Sasuke got angry, he said things or did things that hurt her and she was _so fucking tired _of being hurt all of the time! Sakura was aware that there was a possibility of Sasuke also being mentally ill and if he was, then she would be there for him in whatever way possible, but they couldn't continue like this, always hurting each other. It just wasn't fair.

So what did that mean? Was she supposed to break up with him? It'd be a little difficult considering that they weren't even in a relationship. However, Sakura knew that she had to tell him _something_. Should she give him a chance to try and make things better between them? In a friendship way, yes, but romantically? Was there even anything left to salvage of that part of their relationship?

During their time together, he had treated her well and had made sure all her needs were satisfied, but Sakura wanted more than just sex. She wanted what Gaara was currently giving her. Could Sasuke give that to her? Honestly? Sakura didn't believe that he could. It just wasn't who he was. She would admit that she hadn't really given Sasuke the chance to change, but that was because Sakura didn't want him to change. Was that selfish of her?

"Can you sing to me?"

Gaara was silent for a moment as he stared down at Sakura. "Why?"

"Music helps me relax, but I don't think I could stand to put any on right now." she told him quietly. "And you have a nice voice, so I was just wondering if you would sing to me. I don't mind if you _can't_ sing. I just… it soothes me."

Sing to her? For some reason, the thought made him nervous. But if Sakura needed help to relax, he could push his nervousness aside, couldn't he? Yes, he could.

"What song?" he murmured, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.

"I've had _The Calling_'s version of _Wherever You Will Go_ stuck in my head all night." Sakura said as she looked up. "Do you know it?"

"Of course." Who hadn't heard that song? And no, not that awful remake by Charlene Soraia. He knew that The Calling's version was also a remake, but it was still miles better than hers.

Taking a few moments to remember the words, Gaara continued running his fingers through Sakura's hair. "_So lately, been wondering, who will be there to take my place. When I'm gone, you'll need love, to light the shadows on your face. If a great wave shall fall, it'd fall upon us all. And between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own?_"

Sakura shuffled up the bed until her face was buried in the crook of his neck and as she did, Gaara's hand slipped from her hair to her side, holding her against him.

"_If I could, then I would, I'll go wherever you will go. Way up high or down low, I'll go wherever you will go_." his voice was soft and quiet as he sang to her, making her relax. "_And maybe, I'll find out, the way to make it back someday. To watch you, to guide you, through the darkest of your days. If a great wave shall fall, it'd fall upon us all. Well I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you_!"

She closed her eyes once again, enjoying the small patterns Gaara was tracing on her side. "_If I could, then I would, I'll go wherever you will go. Way up high or down low, I'll go wherever you will go! Run away with my heart. Run away with my hope. Run away with my love! I know now, just quite how, my life and love might still go on. In your heart, in your mind, I'll stay with you for all of time!"_

It wasn't until that moment that Sakura realised how romantic the song truly was. Yes, she knew that it had been about love, but having Gaara sing it to her… Well, it was actually pretty hot. No. Not hot. It made her feel warm, but not in a way that meant she was aroused. It made her feel warm with love. The feeling only intensified with the way he was holding her. Part of her felt like crying and Sakura had no idea why. She just did.

"_If I could, then I would, I'll go wherever you will go. Way up high or down low, I'll go wherever you will go_. _If I could turn back time, I'll go wherever you will go._" Gaara's voice was practically a murmur now and Sakura wondered if he could feel how fast her heart was pounding as he moved his lips to her ear. "_If I could make you mine, I'll go wherever you will go. I'll go wherever you will go!"_

Taking a deep breath, Sakura leaned back so that she could look up at Gaara, silently regarding him. That last verse of the song had been sung so intimately, with so much meaning… Did Gaara really mean it, or had he just been simply singing the words? It hadn't seemed that way. It had seemed like he truly meant it, like he wanted her to be his and only his. "You have an even better singing voice." Sakura breathed, her eyes closing when he pressed his forehead to hers.

He kissed her so softly, so tenderly, that it was like Gaara was telling her that yes, he did mean it. He meant every word of it.

And it scared her so, _so _very much.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Okay. So I wasn't planning on updating, but there was a certain review just now that kinda pissed me off and I know that if I left it until Saturday, I'd most likely forget all about it. "**_I thought this was supposed to be a SasuSaku fanfic... I really don't care for GaaSaku_**" FACE-FUCKING-PALM. That is actually what I did when I read that review from a guest account. First of all, no. It's not only a SasuSaku fanfiction and it clearly says that. If you even bothered to read the summary, just underneath it where it shows the main characters/pairing, it says 'Gaara, Sakura, Sasuke'. This is a love triangle. If it was a SasuSaku fanfiction, I wouldn't have put Gaara in the description. If it was a GaaSaku fanfiction, I wouldn't have put Sasuke in the description. Please don't complain about my story because there's not enough SasuSaku lemons for you. You probably didn't mean it that way, but why else would you read an 'M' rated fanfiction, hoping it would be Sasuke and Sakura?**

**Rant over. God... Some people are just... UGH!**

**I'm having quite a bad day today, which is part of the reason for my little rant. Last night, the mini fridge in my room broke and everything inside went horrible and stunk my room out (I didn't even notice it had broken until I took my earphones out and my ears started ringing because of how quiet it was)! It sucks because the sound of it running helps me sleep, so now I'm even more tired than ever. FML. Then my laptop started saying that I couldn't watch Naruto (I fixed it now, though!). Ugh, it just keeps getting from bad to worse. I'm quite easily angered, so that certainly doesn't help! Writing calms me down, though, so I'm just going to go and work on some other fanfictions.**

**So who's ready for the next chapter? Sakura's going to be making her decision, for those of you who may have forgotten ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	52. Please, Forgive Me!

**Chapter ****52 – ****Please, Forgive Me!**

Sakura stretched, a long groan tearing from her lips as she heard and felt her back, shoulders and arms crack and pop. For some reason, it always sounded disgusting when somebody else was cracking their body parts, but she loved doing it herself. Well, she didn't love it, but it felt good.

Rolling her eyes at herself for her wandering thoughts, Sakura dragged herself out of bed.

The past week had been uneventful and the only thing that had surprised her had been when Ino apologized for forcing her to drink last Saturday. Ino _never _apologized. Also, Sakura had told her that she was just as to blame as her because she should have told Ino about her medication in the first place. Of course, Ino being Ino, she had no problem with agreeing to that and sharing the blame.

Like every other day, Sakura put Ao out in the yard and drove herself to school. It felt nice to finally be in control of something, even if it was only driving herself to places like school. There wasn't a lot she was in control of and it annoyed her to no end. However, instead of letting it get her angry, Sakura took a deep breath, turned on her radio and belted out the song that was currently playing.

And then, when the song changed over, it turned to one that had her almost squealing. No, it wasn't a _Thirty Seconds to Mars_ song. It was _The Calling_. The song that Gaara had… Did it count as serenading? He hadn't been singing every verse because he had whispered the last one in her ear intimately. Sakura shivered at just memory. Gaara didn't know it, but he definitely had the ability to seduce somebody – or was it just her? No, they hadn't had sex again, but damn… just_ damn_.

Sakura turned the radio right up and began singing along with it, not caring that she probably looked like an idiot to passing cars for singing and smiling to herself. It was a shame she couldn't replay the song over and over again on the radio. Sakura sighed. She'd have to buy the song or download it from somewhere.

Turning into the school car park, Sakura parked in her usual spot near the front. It had been her spot ever since she learned how to drive and though Sakura knew for a fact that somebody had been parking there whilst she was away, they had changed spots the moment she returned. Shrugging to herself, Sakura pulled the keys out of the ignition and grabbed her bag from the passenger seat. Some things just couldn't be helped.

Just as she was about to get out of the car, the passenger door opened and for a moment, all Sakura could do was sit there and blink. Who the hell had just dared to get in her car? She clenched her fist tightly and spun around, but quickly stopped herself from slamming it into the person's face when she saw who it was.

Sasuke.

He smirked at her fist. "Is that any way to greet somebody? Well, unless your name suddenly changed to 'Naruto'."

"Sorry." Sakura mumbled as she lowered and relaxed her hand before sitting back in her seat, watching Sasuke carefully. He seemed to be calm today, though he did look tired. Had Itachi spoken with him, yet? How did he handle the news? Sakura didn't want to ask because she knew how horrible it felt to have to talk about being mentally ill – even if it was only a possibility. No. Sasuke could tell her when he was ready, just like she had wanted to tell him when she was ready. "I thought you were going to try and steal my car."

"From the passenger seat?" Sasuke questioned and raised a brow. "And with you still in the driver's seat?"

Oh he was _so _not trying to make her sound like an idiot! "It's not hard to kick somebody out of a car, especially when they were halfway out already!"

"Your door wasn't even open."

Sakura had to refrain from growling. "I was about to open it!"

"Whatever." he rolled his eyes, but Sakura could see the amusement in them. For some reason, Sasuke had always enjoyed annoying her, just like he and Naruto enjoyed arguing with each other. It was just the way they expressed their love for each other. Well, that's what Sakura liked to think because otherwise she would have been driven mad a long time ago. "Are you free tonight?"

Biting the inside of her lip, Sakura nodded before forcing herself to relax. This was Sasuke! She couldn't act like that around him. He needed her. "Why, are you asking me out, _Uchiha–sama_?"

This time, it was him who held back a growl. "That's not funny."

"Oh, I think it's _hilarious_." Sakura laughed loudly. "_Would you like to sit next to me, Uchiha–sama?_" Sasuke breathed deeply as he felt his annoyance growing and noticing it, she decided to stop. "Okay, okay. But you have to admit it's funny how your fan–girls treat you like you're a God." He simply stared at her blankly, making her roll her eyes. "Yes, I'm free. What do you want to do?"

The smile he gave her almost broke her heart. Sasuke looked genuinely happy and even though it should have have made_ her _happy, it didn't. She was still too worried about saying the wrong thing and setting him off. It was so hypocritical of her because Sakura hated it when people treated her that way, but she was taking medication and seeing Tsunade to help her. She wasn't even sure if Itachi had mentioned anything to Sasuke yet.

"Come over around eight." Sasuke told her. "We need to talk."

She hated those words. Those were the words that made you think of every bad thing you had done, _ever_. And for Sakura, that was a long list of things. "Talk?"

Again, he gave her a blank look. "Don't act stupid. It doesn't suit you."

"I'm not acting stupid." she grumbled and finally opened her door. "Now, unless you really are trying to steal my car, get out so I can lock it. Otherwise I'm going to have to kick your ass in front of all these people."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he also got out, shutting the door and walking around the car so that he and Sakura could walk into school together. They didn't have the same first lesson, though, so once they had to part, they went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>She opened her mouth, about to tell Gaara that Sasuke had asked her out, but he beat her to it.<p>

"Naruto asked me out."

Sakura's eyes widened with shock. "B–But he's not… I mean we… He…"

Realising what she thought he had meant, Gaara shot a glare in her direction. "Not like that." he told her. "He asked me if I wanted to get some ramen tonight."

"You should do it!" she told him, giving Gaara a smile. "Naruto's a great friend to have and I think you'd–"

"Don't."

"–love to have him as a friend." Sakura smirked at the glare she received before giving him a serious look. "Sasuke wants to talk."

Gaara's glare slowly slipped away into a frown. "Talk?"

She nodded. "You know that thing people do?" His glare returned. "Okay, okay. I think he wants to talk about him possibly being I.E.D because he was… _much_ calmer this morning. He smiled, too. No, it's not rare that he smiles, but he hasn't truly smiled in a long time, you know? I–I just… I think I should give him a chance to at least talk–"

"It's fine, Sakura." Gaara told her with a small smile. "You don't have to ask for my permission. I don't control you." There was a short pause for a moment as he glanced up at the sky. "And he does deserve the chance to speak with you. Just…" Gaara frowned for a moment, seeming to struggle with finding the words before he turned to face her. "Don't let him push you into anything you don't want to do, Sakura."

It was her who averted her eyes this time as she looked down at the ground. "I don't want to hurt him."

There was a sound of a sigh. "Do what you have to."

Deciding it was best to change the subject, Sakura tried her best to smile as she looked back up at Gaara. It took him a couple of moments to turn and look at her again, but he did. "So you're going out with Naruto, then?" He shrugged. "You should! Yes, Naruto's pretty goofy, but he's great fun to be around. I think you should hang out with him. You two could be like B.F.F's." Gaara groaned and rolled his eyes, making Sakura laugh. "I'm kidding! But you _could_ be friends. Naruto just wants to get to know you. Going out with him for a couple of hours isn't going to kill you."

"It might kill _him_."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "He really isn't that bad. Just give him a chance. Please? For me?"

"That's not fair." he grunted and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Lunch wasn't over for another twenty minutes!

"I need to find Naruto," Gaara told her rather reluctantly, "so I can ask him what time I should meet him."

The smile she suddenly sent him definitely made it worth it.

* * *

><p>The moment she arrived, Sakura knew for a fact that Itachi was not home. It worried her slightly but at the same time, she was glad. With nobody else home, maybe Sasuke would finally open up to her and tell her how he was feeling. Maybe he was finally going to let her in. The thought had her smiling sadly as she got out of her car, locked it, and made her way over to the front door. It opened after only a couple of knocks and Sakura tried her best to give a more genuine smile to Sasuke as he let her in.<p>

And when they entered the dining room, she _did _give him a real smile.

He had put in so much effort! Sakura hadn't even been aware that they would be eating tonight. No, she hadn't had anything to eat yet, but she would have when she went home after their talk. It seemed Sasuke wanted to talk over dinner. Sakura had heard that it sometimes made things easier since you would have other things to focus on, but it never really worked for her. It was so out of character for him, though. There were actually candles! And there was soft music, too. The thought of him changing who he was for her had her chest aching. She didn't want him to change.

Instead of saying anything, however, Sakura smiled brightly and kissed his cheek before sitting down. Sasuke disappeared for a couple of moments into the kitchen and when he returned, he was carrying two plates. It made her giggle when she saw that it was spaghetti bolognese and in return, he smirked at her. Back when they first got together – or when they had first decided to be friends with benefits – they had been making this exact meal together. However, halfway through cooking, Sasuke discovered that Sakura was an awful cook and in response to his comment, she threw spaghetti at him. It had started in a food fight and ended in sex.

Sakura quickly took a sip of her drink, only to spit it back into the glass as she realised it was wine.

"Sakura?"

"I–I can't drink." she told him, averting her eyes. "It doesn't mix well with my medication."

Sasuke was back on his feet in an instant and taking her glass into the kitchen, returning with a clean glass and a can of Pepsi. As he placed them in front of her, she gave him another smile. It was kind of nice that he remembered what type of wine she liked, although Sakura was inwardly yelling at herself for not noticing that it had been wine in the first place. It probably looked disgusting how she had spat it back into the glass! Perhaps she should have just taken small sips? No. She couldn't. There wasn't a chance in hell in her risking getting another hangover. Besides, when alcohol was involved, things _always_ got sexual between them. She couldn't allow that to happen. They had to talk and Sakura couldn't hurt Gaara in such a way.

As they ate, they talked about unimportant subjects such as his training, how her father still wasn't very fond of Ao, Naruto being an idiot and when they would be getting their grades for their English work. Well, the topics weren't unimportant, it was just that Sakura had been hoping Sasuke would want to talk about something different.

And once they were sat in the living room, watching television together, he did.

"Sakura," She turned to face him and was immediately stunned by the look in his eyes, "please give me a chance."

How could she say no to him? It was his eyes. There was a look in his eyes that seemed almost desperate and it made her chest ache. The look reminded her of the thirteen year old boy who just lost both of his parents, who was feeling lost and lonely and had no idea what to do with himself or how to act.

"I'm not good with telling people how I feel." Sasuke told her before hesitantly moving forward and pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. "So let me _show_ you."

And as he pressed his lips to hers, Sakura fought hard against the tears, against the hard lump that seemed determined on choking her.

'_Gaara… forgive me.'_

* * *

><p>That night, Sasuke made love to her. It wasn't like their previous times together, but in a way, it was. It was like he was trying to show her that he was the one she should choose and it was breaking her heart. With every kiss, every caress and every thrust, Sakura could feel her heart breaking more and more. There was a feeling of desperation to their lovemaking, but there was also a strange sense of finality, like they both knew deep down that after tonight, it was going to change their relationship for good.<p>

Previously, when they had had sex, it had been just that. It had been simple fucking and nothing more. But now… now it felt as though Sakura could _feel_ Sasuke's emotions. It was like he was _shoving_ them at her, _begging_ her to take notice.

He was finally letting her in.

The sad thing was, was that if it had been before she disappeared, before she had been raped then it might have meant something. If it had been before she had fallen in love with Gaara, then Sakura would have gladly returned Sasuke's feelings. But that was just the point. There was not only them to think about now, but there was also Gaara. Not to mention that when she had needed him most, Sasuke had been nowhere to be seen. Gaara had been there for her in every way he possibly could be. He could show her his feelings without it having to be through sex.

And now here she was, laying on her side, staring at the wall facing her with Sasuke's chest pressed firmly to her back and his arms wrapped tightly around her. Sakura could tell by his even breathing that he was asleep and it was only then that she allowed her silent tears to fall.

Why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't somebody just point her in the right direction? Why couldn't she just love one of them? What was currently going on between them… it wasn't fair to any of them. Her actions were selfish and unfair. She shouldn't be laying there with Sasuke. Hell, Sakura shouldn't even be having sex with him! She shouldn't have had sex with either of them until she knew exactly who and what she wanted.

But the thing was Sakura _did_ know what she wanted and had for quite a while now. She had just been too afraid of admitting it to herself. Tonight, however, had made her see clearly who she wanted to be with.

And it wasn't the boy sleeping next to her.

Not anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - And there you go!**

**For those of you who remembered, in the earlier chapters, when they had had sex after Sakura returned, Sasuke had never allowed for it to be in a bed and he never made eye contact. It probably doesn't seem like much to you all, but it does mean something. It means that he's willing to put the past behind them. He's letting her in.**

**...but as you can tell, he's too late. Sakura's chosen who she wants to be with.**

**I feel like I have to put a warning now whenever I'm about to rant, because apparently some people don't like them... Um... So here's the warning.**

**RANT****:**** to that guest account who posted some shitty review!**

When have I _ever_ said that I'm the only writer on this site who gets bad reviews? Never. Who even are you? If you want to argue with me, get on your account because I'm not going to force my readers to sit there and read me having a go at you.

So what if I'm immature? _Boohoo_ cry me a fucking river. At the end of the day, I'm only seventeen years old and I have anger issues. If I want to rant, then I _will_ rant. Just because you told me I'm sad for doing so, doesn't mean I'm going to stop! The fact that you posted as a guest instead of on your account means that I'm going to have to reply this way. You can't stop me from posting what I want in my A/Ns. I see other writers write A/Ns longer than mine and with even angrier looking/sounding rants. You want to know why? It's because of people like _you_.

Get your ass on an account so that I can actually message you instead of having to post it on here. I'm sad? You're the one posting reviews as a guest account instead of on your own. I have a feeling you're the same person as the one calling me a hypocrite or the other guest reviews like that one.

Don't like my rants? Don't read them. It's as simple as that!

**Sorry if that offended anyone! Is it _sad_ and _immature_ that I actually enjoy replying to those people? Probably. I've been told I'm quite an argumentative person. But they're always giving me a reason to do another rant! I'm not the type of person who can just ignore shit like that. It pisses me off too much! Especially when they're too cowardly to post the review whilst logged in.**

**Anyways...**

**Oh God! I was listening "I Don't Wanna Die" by Hollywood Undead and I kept thinking about this fanfiction for some reason. Well, the part where they sing "I told you once, I'm the only one who holds her".**

**Okay, am I the only one who thinks Obito's voice is weird? It's hot, yet it's creepy. I can't make my mind up!**

**There was this huuuuge fucking spider that came running up the wall from behind my radiator last night! I swear to God, I nearly had a heart attack. And now it's gone. Missing. It went back down the wall and behind my radiator again. I feel like Chris Griffin. He has that evil monkey living in his closet and now I have an disgusting spider living behind my radiator. Cringe. I keep expecting it to just pop back up and glare at me. I hate spiders!**

**I'm still gutted about my beloved mini-fridge. Now I have to go aaaaall the way downstairs and socialise with those strange people who claim to be my family. Does that make me sad? ;-)**

**Hahaha! Anyways, I've gone on long enough and for those of you who actually took the time to read all that shit, thanks!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	53. It's Over Now

**Chapter ****53 –**** It's Over Now**

Gaara held back his grimace as he ate the food Naruto had ordered for him. It wasn't that he didn't like it because it was… No. He didn't like it. There was nothing more to it. He still ate it, though. Not because he felt as though he had to, but because he wanted to. Sakura had asked him to give Naruto a chance, to be his friend and he was going to try. For her.

"So, Gaara," Naruto spoke despite the fact that his mouth was full, forcing Gaara to hold back yet another grimace at the sight, "how did you meet Sakura–chan?"

He wanted to talk about Sakura? "Detention."

The way Naruto barked out a laugh as he slapped his hand to the counter made him shoot the blond a wary glance. Sakura had warned him that Naruto was goofy and a little hyperactive, but nothing could have prepared him for this. They had been hanging out for over an hour now and he had discovered that Naruto was his exact opposite!

"Detention?" Naruto continued to laugh. "Oh, that sounds just like her!"

"It does?" Gaara didn't think that it did.

"Mm–hm!" He shoved another mouthful of ramen into his mouth and after swallowing it, he turned to face Gaara. "Well, I mean the old her. You see, Sakura–chan used to be in detention _all the time_. Actually… I don't think she ever turned up for them, now that I think about it."

Gaara's eyes narrowed but he forced himself to relax. "She's different now."

"I know." At his sombre tone, Gaara turned to face him. "And I'm trying to understand her it's just… It's hard. I feel like I don't deserve to try and understand her, you know?" When Gaara frowned, Naruto looked down at the counter, his blond eyebrows knitting together. "All those months I left her alone – well, not completely alone because she had you, but you get what I mean, don't you?" He nodded once, his frown deepening slightly. "I want to be there for her this time, I really do, but I don't know how to be. Sakura–chan is so different now. She's so much better than how she used to be and don't get me wrong, I'm really happy for her, but now I feel like I don't even know her."

"You _don't_ know her." Naruto sent him a glare but Gaara simply returned it. "But… even though it hurt her that you weren't there, I know that Sakura will forgive you." he paused for a moment, turning back to his half–full bowl. "She's trying to forgive you and everyone else, but it's hard for her. When she needed you most, none of you were there for her and even though I didn't know the 'old' Sakura that well, only knowing her from the rumours I heard about her, I knew enough about her to know that she would have been there for you all no matter what."

There was a sound of somebody letting out a huff of breath and when he looked to the side, he saw Naruto scratching his head. "You really know how to make a guy feel bad, don't you?" Then, he suddenly grew serious. "I know better than anyone how loyal Sakura–chan is. I don't know much about the new Sakura–chan, but I want to try and get to know her. She was my best friend, you know?" The pained look on Naruto's face looked so out of place, even to Gaara. "I… I miss her. And I don't mean in the romantic way, because I know that she loves you more than anything. And I'm okay with that because you make her happy. That's all I've ever wanted for her."

He sighed, putting his elbows on the counter and resting his head in his hands, leaning over his forgotten ramen. Suddenly, he wasn't feeling hungry anymore. "I was stupid to think that she could care for me in any way other than friendship. Well, since we… you know… I guess I wasn't completely stupid… but…" At Gaara's glare, he quickly shut up. "When I heard about her and Sasuke – well, I didn't hear, I was sent a video of them together – I got jealous and angry because they hid it from me like I was a child. If he made her truly happy, then I would have supported them. Yeah, it'd hurt like hell, but I still would've done it." Naruto sighed again, running both his hands up his face until they were tangled in his hair. "Everything that night… It got so out of control. I didn't mean to snap like that at them. I didn't mean to start fighting with Sasuke and hurt Sakura–chan and then…" Gaara was honestly surprised when Naruto's eyes filled with tears. "If I had known about what would happen if she left, I would've stopped her. I would've given her a lift home and refused to leave her side!"

Gaara honestly couldn't imagine how Naruto was feeling right at that moment. The guilt the blond was feeling looked like it was torturing him. "Sakura doesn't blame you for what happened, Naruto." he said quietly. "She told me about… what happened that night. The man who attacked her, he had been watching her for a while. He knew her name, where she lived, where Sasuke lived and how much he meant to her." Naruto's eyes widened as they snapped to his. "That's why Sakura didn't tell anyone, Naruto."

"Are… Are you saying that…?"

As much as it made him feel sick to his stomach, Gaara nodded once. "It he hadn't attacked her that night in the woods, it's likely that he would have attacked her the next time she was alone."

"Then I would have stayed by her side!"

"Don't you get it?" he snapped before he could stop himself. At Naruto's startled look, Gaara forced himself to calm down. "It's why she didn't report it in the first place. The man knew a lot about her and her friends. Sakura told me that she didn't want to risk any of you getting hurt." When it looked like the blond was about to argue, he silenced him with a glare. "You said so yourself that you know how loyal Sakura is, which means you know how protective she can be of those she cares for. If there was a chance that she could stop you all from being hurt, she would take it. If she had to remain silent about what happened to keep you all safe, she would do it."

Naruto shook his head. "I just wish she didn't have to." Then, to try and lighten the mood, he turned to Gaara and grinned. "Wanna go to the arcades? I could totally kick your ass on this new game they have!"

He very much doubted that. Gaara smirked. "I'd like to see you try."

* * *

><p>The moment the sun began to rise, Sakura was out of bed and rushing around the room, looking for her clothes. She couldn't stay any longer. She couldn't. It was making her feel like she couldn't breathe, especially knowing what she had to do now. All night Sakura had been crying and because of that, she didn't get any sleep at all.<p>

Running away. She was _always_ running away.

It was stressing her out so much that she forgot she needed to be quiet and just as she had put her underwear back on and reached for her jeans, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sasuke was now waking up. Damn it! Sakura looked around the room urgently as she jumped up and down, trying to pull her jeans over her hips. Where the hell was her shirt?

There! She all but ran over to it and once it was on, it seemed Sasuke had finally noticed something wasn't right.

"Sakura?" Sasuke frowned as he watched her quickly getting dressed. "What's the matter?"

It wasn't until she turned to face him that Sasuke realised she was crying. At the sight of her tears, his eyes widened and he shot out of bed, pulling on a pair of underwear as he did. However, just as Sasuke went to hold her, Sakura pushed him away, confusing him even further.

"No." she whispered, her eyes closing sadly. "I can't… you… _Sasuke_…"

She said his name with such a broken voice that Sasuke knew immediately what she was trying to tell him. He could feel his mind yelling at him to put his walls up, to push her away before she hurt him, but Sasuke refused to do so. No, he had already lost her once because of his damned walls. "Don't do this, Sakura." Sasuke told her softly, his voice nothing more than a murmur. "Don't leave me."

It was strange to have him asking her not to leave him, but Sakura didn't question it. Instead she covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her tears and weakness. "We can't be together, Sasuke. Last night… as much as I loved every second of it… it still shouldn't have happened." Because her eyes were closed, Sakura didn't see the look of pain and hurt that flitted across Sasuke's features.

"At least look at me." Sasuke's voice was now just as quiet as Sakura's, barely any louder than a whisper. "If you're going to break up with me, I at least want you to look at me."

Slowly, she lowered her hands from her face, her bloodshot eyes almost reluctant to look at him. When they locked gazes, more tears started to fall. "I never wanted to hurt you." Her body shook as she tried to hold back her sobs. "I… I love you but–"

"But you love him more."

"I'm sorry."

What happened next was something Sakura never expected. One moment, she was stood by herself, her body trembling and her tears falling uncontrollably and the next, Sasuke had pulled her into a hug. As he held her tightly against him, he took a deep breath before releasing it shakily. "Just… don't let him hurt you, Sakura." Sasuke told her quietly, his voice low in her ear. "And know that I'll always be here for you, even if it isn't the way I want it to be. No matter what, I'll always love you."

He loved her.

That was the first time Sasuke had ever told her.

She nodded quickly and wrapped her own arms around Sasuke. For a couple of moments, she cried pretty hard before getting a hold of herself and finally pulling away and when she did, Sakura had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying again. Sasuke was emotionless once again, but she could see the pain in his eyes.

After their breakup, if you could even call it that, Sakura silently walked out of Sasuke's room, her breathing coming quick.

She tried her best to ignore the loud crashes and bangs as well as angry shouts coming from Sasuke's room as he trashed it.

* * *

><p>The ride home had been a blur, as had entering her home, locking the door and making her way up the stairs. She didn't know where her parents were right now, but considering that it was only around five in the morning, that didn't surprise her in the least. They were most likely still in bed. Sakura didn't even glance at anything in her bedroom, ignoring the vibrating of her phone on her bedside table, telling her that she had a message. She had set it so that it would remind her every couple of minutes that she had a message or notification. It had probably been going off all night but thankfully, it was on silent.<p>

Ao was asleep on her bed, but the moment she stepped into her bedroom, he sat up quickly, seeming excited to see her until he took in her state and tilted his head to the side, concerned for his owner. It was wrong of her to do so, but she ignored him too. She just needed to be alone right now and as she closed the bathroom door behind her, it seemed Ao noticed that too as he lowered himself onto the bed once more, his eyes never leaving the bathroom door for a moment.

Sakura switched on her shower, barely even out of her clothes before she sat down underneath the spray of hot water, dragging her knees up to her chest as she sobbed. Her arms snaked their way around her legs, her fists clenching tightly before one hand swung up to her hair.

It was over between her and Sasuke. For good. Deep down, she had wanted to end whatever they were for a while now, but it still hurt. What if he wanted nothing to do with her? No, Sakura didn't believe that Sasuke continued being her friend so that she would sleep with him. She was just scared that he would be hurt and would want to avoid her.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the hand in her hair moved to cover her mouth until she shifted from her position, lowering her knees to the floor of her shower cubicle and wrapping one of her arms around her stomach as she leaned forward. The pain in her chest made her feel sick and no matter how hard Sakura tried, she couldn't stop shaking.

What was she supposed to tell Gaara, now? "_I chose you, but I had sex with Sasuke one last time_"? How the hell could she tell him that? It would hurt him! Sakura's sobbing increased. Why the hell had she gone and slept with Sasuke? Gaara… She loved him so much and she had betrayed him! If she told him what she had done, would he ever forgive her? Sakura's trembling increased. What if he hated her?

With unsteady hands, Sakura reached out for her sponge and soap, distractedly washing her body.

She couldn't face him. Not now, at least. Gaara would understand if she spent a couple of days alone, wouldn't he? Hopefully he would if she told him it was because she had chosen him, but needed to… to what? Mourn the end of her 'relationship' with Sasuke? It hadn't even been a relationship! But she had still loved him. She still _did_ love him, but it was like Sasuke had said. She loved Gaara more.

Oh God… How could she tell Gaara that she had slept with Sasuke?

The sponge dropped from her hands as they both flew up into her hair and fisted it tightly.

She would never, _never_ forgive herself for hurting Gaara.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - So how do you all think Gaara is going to react to the news? Or do you think Sakura is going to keep it from him?**

**I'm not going to have a massive rant like the other day, but I do have one question for a certain guest review. If you 'lost interest' in this story quickly, then why are you still reading it?**

**The spider came back. Oh God. I nearly cried. I woke up and as I looked up at the ceiling, it was right above my head. I have _never _screamed so loud before. I hate spiders! It's safe to say, though, that two of my cats had fun when they spotted it.**

**I bet you were all shocked by Sasuke's reaction, right? I was going to have him throwing a bitch fit, but I thought that this would be better. Is it? Or would you have all rather had him sulking and throwing a tantrum?**

**Some of your reviews honestly had me smiling so brightly, my sister said that I look like a psychopath who was looking for their next victim. My mum kept asking me whenever my phone went off if I was feeling all right! Oh they are hilarious. Not.**

**Anyways. I made a beta profile, but I'm still not entirely sure on how it works. Sometimes I feel like an old woman when I'm using this site!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	54. I Can Never Forget

**Warning: Uh... I was told to put 'trigger warnings' on certain chapters. So, here it is.**

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><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**54 –**** I Can Never Forget**

_Mom and dad, _

_Please forgive me. I know that recently I've been such a mess and a disappointment to the both of you__ and__ I am truly sorry__ for that__. There's been so much that has been happening recently. It's like the whole world is going by in fast__–__forward and I'm just simply sat there, watching it go by. It's feels like my mind is going a million miles an hour and I feel so out of sync._ _I wake up and I'm empty. I have nothing and nobody._

_Just know that even though I told you both that I hate you, you mean so much to me. I know that I've often said things and done things that say otherwise, but I love you both so much and nothing will ever change that._

_I've made such a mess of my life and there's so much that has happened to me that you don't know about and part of me hopes you never find out about that stuff. I want you both to remember me as your little girl, your little kicker. I'm so scared. I'm scared that if you find out those things, you'll both be disgusted with me; you'll be ashamed and wish that I wasn't your daughter. Just know that if that time comes, where you find out all the things I've ever done, I'm sorry._

_Saying sorry won't make anything better though, will it? I've tried to tell them all that I'm sorry, but they won't listen to me. They all hate me and everybody has turned against me. I've been feeling so down recently but it wasn't until today that it really hit me. It wasn't until this morning when I woke up, wondering why I was even bothering anymore. It was like every little bit of fight in me just went out like a candle. All hope that I would ever be forgiven just… vanished._

_I just want you and everyone else to know that no matter what you hear about me, no matter what gets found out, there was never a moment where I didn't love any of you. I love you all so much that it is killing me inside knowing you all hate me._

_Please don't be mad. I know that when you find me, like any other parent, you're going to want to find those responsible, but please don't. Don't blame my friends, because it's my fault why they hate me. Don't blame my ex__–__boyfriends, because again, it's my fault. If there is anybody to blame, it's me._

_Each day it gets worse and nothing ever gets better. I just feel so alone right now and it's really getting to me. I don't know whether you hear me or not, but every night I cry myself to sleep. It's so hard because nobody knows what I have to deal with on a daily basis. You don't know of the things I've had to go through alone and I can't tell you guys because I need to protect them. You told me to "get over it" and that I need to start acting my age__, but t__his is not something I can just get over. _

_It's too late to try and save me. I've fallen too far from the rest of you. It's like there's a massive, impenetrable wall between me and everybody I love. __I keep clawing at it, trying to tear it down and get back to you all, but nothing works. __This loneliness… it's strange… even though I feel as though I'm burning up, I feel so cold._

_I just want the pain to go away._

_I want to close my eyes and never wake up again._

_So my last request, as your daughter, is this: __Let me die__._

_I'll always love you._

_Sakura_

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><p>Mebuki could still remember that day as though it was only yesterday. The night she had found her little girl in the bath, bathing in her own blood. It hurt like it was only yesterday and like the pain, the memories were still fresh. No matter how hard she had tried, they just wouldn't go away. Almost every night Mebuki would wake up screaming into her pillow. It was because of this that Kazashi often slept in one of the guest rooms, although Sakura didn't know that small fact. Hopefully, she never would.<p>

The moment Mebuki rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes tiredly, memories flashed to the front of her mind.

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><p>"<em>Y<em>_ou can't honestly believe that this is my fault!" Kazashi all but roared at her before leaning out of the living__ room doorway and glaring up the stairs__. "Sakura, turn that music down!"_

_There was no answer or a sign of acknowledgement._

_Mebuki shook her head angrily. "You were forcing food down her throat, Kazashi! Doing that isn't going to make her any better, it's going to make her worse. For all we know, you could have traumatized her by doing such a thing! Imagine if you were her and some man came barging into _your_ room, started shoving food into _your _mouth."_

_Running a hand through his thinning hair, Kazashi tried his best to stay calm. "What was I supposed to do, eh? She won't eat, she won't sleep! Sakura does nothing more than sit in her room just staring at the walls like she's a zombie. Somebody had to take action!"_

"_Take action?" Mebuki repeated incredulously. "Kazashi, you could have choked her!"_

"_I knew what I was doing!"_

"_No, you didn't!"_

_Finally losing his temper, Kazashi yelled up the stairs, "Sakura__,_ turn that shit off_!"_

_Again, there was no answer and noticing this, they both frowned. No matter how loud her music was and no matter how bad her mood was, Sakura always defended her favourite band. It was like she just knew when somebody was insulting them._

"_There's no way she could have fallen asleep with her music so loud." Mebuki mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing. "Do you think she could have been trying to drown us out? We were yelling pretty loud…" Kazashi's eyes widened as he turned to his wife and noticing his look, her own widened. "You don't think…"_

_Kazashi was darting up the stairs before she could even finish her sentence and following behind him, Mebuki made it just in time to see him breaking open Sakura's bedroom door. That was another sign that something wasn't right. Sakura hardly ever locked her bedroom door. The music was much louder now but as they looked around, they found that there was no Sakura and no music player. However, as they looked around, Mebuki's eyes landed on something that was laying on her bed._

_Reading the words, Mebuki felt as though her heart was being crushed, like somebody incredibly heavy had gone and sat on her chest. She was just about to show the letter to Kazashi, but it seemed he had already read it over her shoulder since he was slamming his entire body into the door leading to her bathroom. Due to their shock and fear, they completely forgot about the other door._

_By now, Mebuki was crying, terrified at what could possibly be inside of the bathroom, but when Kazashi finally managed to open the door, it was like she was automatically rushing forward, ignoring her husband as he yelled at her to ring an ambulance and instead grabbing the heavy, lifeless body of her daughter. The sight was like something out of a horror movie. Sakura was simply __laying__ motionlessly in __her__ bath__, under the water__ that was red with her blood, her skin was already an unhealthy shade of pale and the slits on her wrists were still oozing with blood__, making her feel sick to her stomach__._

"_Sakura, baby, please wake up!" Mebuki cried as they both fell to the ground. Quickly looking over her shoulder at Kazashi, she ordered, "Get me some towels! We need to try and stop the bleeding." When he passed her the towels, Mebuki set to wrapping them around her wrists__ tightly__. "Come on, Sakura. This isn't what you want!" Once again turning to look at Kazashi, Mebuki spoke to him. "We need to get her to the hospital."_

_He nodded. "I'll go and ring__–__"_

_She shook her head furiously. "They'll take too long to get here! We need to drive." Pulling herself to her feet, Mebuki tried her best to lift Sakura, but she was too heavy for her. "Help me, Kazashi! Don't just stand there."_

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><p>She was terrified of something happening to Sakura, of entering her daughter's room one morning to find her… to find her dead. God, just the thought caused her heart to clench painfully. Only a mother would understand the pain, or the worry, or anything else that comes along with motherhood. They carried their babies inside of them for nine months and after that, their entire lives revolve around that small child.<p>

Mebuki was terrified of the fact that Sakura may relapse. Her daughter was bipolar and depending on whether it was the manic or the depressive episode, she could very well try to kill herself again. Suicidal tendencies never truly left a person, after all.

Another thing Mebuki could never forget was the day Sakura had been sectioned. Even whilst she was there, her daughter tried to kill herself. Altogether, she had four suicide attempts – not including all of the fights she had picked with the most dangerous, unstable patients. The first time, Sakura had slit her wrists. The second, the one that they didn't even realise until it was almost too late, was trying to starve herself to death.

That particular one had scared Mebuki more than the other three. When they found out, it had almost been too late and after that, Sakura had been placed onto a drip before she had had her meals monitored. It had pained Mebuki to know that her daughter had to be watched whilst she ate, but there was very little she could do. Nothing mattered more than getting her little girl well again.

The third attempt had been an overdose. Sakura, because of her being bipolar, had chosen to take medication to balance out her moods as well as therapy sessions. When she received her daily medication, Sakura had hidden the tablets in her mouth before removing them and storing them up. Then, when she believed she had enough, Sakura had taken them all. It was by pure luck that a doctor had been passing her room at the time. It was the same with her last attempt, when she had tried to hang herself. If it hadn't been for somebody passing by, Sakura would have died. After that final attempt, they had somebody stay with Sakura at all times and sometimes they even went as far as to have to sedate her. They also restrained her to her bed at one point as she kept trying to harm herself.

Mebuki had never seen her daughter get so violent before, but when she had been in the unit for the mentally unstable, she had seen it. She had witnessed her daughter attack her nurses, the orderlies, anyone who tried to make her do something she didn't want to do. It had been utterly terrifying seeing her daughter lash out like she had.

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><p><em>Sakura snorted, giving the psychiatrist a vicious glare. "Stop talking to me like I'm a fucking idiot. I'm not an idiot. I'm actually pretty smart and I know that I'm not crazy, okay? So take your clipboard, take your shitty little pen and take your tacky clothes and <em>fuck off_!"_

_She rolled her eyes as the woman darted out of the room and sat back in her seat, very obviously ignoring her parents as they stared at her in shock. How pathetic. Seriously, if she couldn't handle what she said – compared to what she _could _have said – then the woman had no right to be working here. Okay, Sakura would admit that when she had screamed 'fuck off', she had really gone for it (her throat was quite sore now), but still. It wasn't like she attacked the woman!_

"_Fuck!" Sakura screamed as she ran her hands through her hair, shooting up out of her seat. "Just let me out of here!"_

_Barely even paying attention to the fact her pacing was worrying her parents, Sakura continued with it until she paused, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. All the way down here in an office and she could still hear their screaming! Why wouldn't they just shut the fuck up? She wasn't asking for much! All Sakura wanted was some peace and quiet. No, what she wanted was to fucking _die_. Why wouldn't they let her die? Hadn't she suffered enough already?_

"_Sakura, please try to–"_

"_Shut up!"_

_By now Sakura was shaking with the need to lash out and destroy something. Part of her wanted to attack her parents. After all, it was their fault why she was stuck in this hell hole. A mental hospital. Sakura scoffed and sent a glare over in her parents direction, her emerald eyes wild and dark with anger, yet, if you looked closely enough, you could see her pain. It was obvious that she was suffering._

"_I don't belong here." Sakura muttered as she continued with her pacing. There was too much energy in her body and if she didn't want to attack her parents, then she had to get rid of it somehow. "I don't belong here. I don't–"_

_She was interrupted by the door slamming open, revealing the psychiatrist once again and seeing her, Sakura stopped pacing and turned to face her, a nasty smirk on her lips. "So you came back?" she laughed loudly before falling deadly serious. "Look, if you want to stand around and have me insult you all day, then that's–"_

"_Please be quiet, Haruno–san."_

"_Don't interrupt me."_

_Sakura's upper lip twitched with anger until it curled. Maybe she couldn't attack her parents, but this bitch…_

"_I fucking hate it when people interrupt me!" she screamed and darted forward._

_Only to be pinned a moment later by two large men who seemed to appear out of nowhere. She screamed obscenities, thrashed and threatened them all, but they wouldn't let go. Why the fuck wouldn't they let go of her? And _fuck!_ Did they have to be so rough?_

_And then something was being injected into her neck, making Sakura's eyes widen, but no matter how hard she tried to fight the drug, nothing would work and soon, she was blacking out._

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><p>The thing that probably stuck out the most to Mebuki, however, was a certain conversation she had had with Sakura. It had shattered her heart completely, especially when she told her daughter that nobody had asked after her or tried to visit her. At the time, she believed she had been doing the right thing. After reading Sakura's suicide letter, Mebuki honestly believed that perhaps her friends had something to do with it. In fact, it was only Sasuke and Naruto who tried to visit her and Naruto, of all people, gave up long before Sasuke did.<p>

All Mebuki had been focused on was getting Sakura better and at the time, she had believed that it would have been better not to have anybody know what had happened, that Sakura needed a break from her friends.

It was clear now that it had not been the right decision.

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><p><em>The sight of her daughter was killing her. Sakura was pale and so very thin. There were dark circles under her eyes and her once flawless skin was blotchy and covered in spots. Her second attempt. Sakura hadn't been eating since a week before her first attempt and they hadn't noticed until a couple of weeks ago when she had collapsed. It was because of not eating that her skin looked so bad, why she looked so ill…<em>

_Mebuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They had been feeding her through a drip up until the other week, when they had started putting her back onto solid food, though they kept it bland so that it wouldn't upset her stomach after going so long without eating. Sakura had refused to eat at first, but they had somehow managed to talk her into eating again. Mebuki wasn't sure how that happened and she didn't care. Her baby girl was going to get better. The only thing that upset her was that they watched her as she ate. It hurt knowing that her daughter wasn't trusted to eat her food._

"_I feel like I've been kidnapped." Sakura spat angrily._

_Her eyes snapped open and Mebuki was surprised to find Sakura glaring at her. That was a first. Usually during her visits, her daughter would stay silent and refuse to acknowledge her or Kazashi. Oh, if only he was here with her! He would have been so happy to have her talking again, even if she was angry with them. Having her angry with them was better than her ignoring them, acting like they were invisible._

"_We just want to help you, Sakura. This wouldn't have happened if you talked to us." _

_Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Like you'd understand anything about me." _

"_We would have tried!" _

"_I want to die! What is so hard to understand about that? Just get out and leave me alone!"_

_She couldn't help but let her tears fall. What had happened to her little girl? Their little kicker? "Don't do this, Sakura. Please! Let me help you." Mebuki pleaded as she walked forward. "Please don't shut me out."_

_There was hatred in Sakura's eyes as they hardened and it made Mebuki's heart ache. Hadn't she been a good mother? Had she let her daughter down somehow? What could she have done to make Sakura so angry with her? To have her own daughter looking at her with so much anger and hatred and accusation?_

_It also made her heart ache how Sakura couldn't get out of bed, yet. She was still much too weak from going so long without food. The doctor had said that it would be too much strain on her body and when Sakura kept pushing herself too hard to get out of bed, orderlies had been brought in to watch her until she was strong enough not to need them anymore. Right now, the orderlies were silently preparing themselves for another one of Sakura's episodes. It wasn't an actual episode, more like an explosion of anger._

"_Don't shut you out?" Sakura seethed as she forced herself into a sitting position. "How long did it take you and dad to realise I wasn't home? A couple of days? A week? You're too busy with your fucking company to give a shit about me and it's the same with him, too! So don't you dare say that I'm the one shutting you out." She ignored the orderlies warning her to calm down as Sakura stood up on legs that felt like jelly, as she clutched her side and tried to ignore the dizziness threatening to knock her to the ground. "I don't want your _help_." Sakura spat at her mother, the hatred in her eyes growing. "I don't want help from anybody! I just want to die!"_

_And it was when she took an unsteady step towards her mother that the orderly moved forward. However, unlike the first day when they had needed two of them and were rough, it was only one man and he made sure to be careful as he sedated Sakura and gently placed her back into her bed before giving Mebuki a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave, Haruno–san."_

_Mebuki nodded, trying and failing to hold back her tears and sobs as she left the room, collapsing against the wall in the corridor._

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><p>The day they had brought Sakura home was supposed to be one of the happiest days ever. Mebuki had dreamed about it for months. But when it actually happened, it was so different than what she had thought it would be. Whilst Mebuki had dreamed of Sakura being happy and her usual self, she was actually aloof and… it was almost as though she was tired of everything.<p>

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><p><em>Sakura's new psychiatrist was a genius! Mebuki had actually cried with happiness when Tsunade had told her it was time for Sakura to come home, that she was certain she wouldn't try to kill herself again. Her previous doctor had given up on her and said that she was a lost cause. When that had happened, Mebuki went to the one person she knew she could trust with her daughter – Namikaze Minato.<em>

_He had been shocked when he found out where Sakura had really been and a little upset that Mebuki didn't want any of Sakura's friends finding out, but in the end, he had helped out and assigned one of the best to her daughter. Tsunade. It had surprised her how alike Sakura and Tsunade were._

_And now, three months on, Sakura was coming home._

_Her baby girl was coming home._

_It hadn't been easy. During those three months, Sakura had attempted suicide another two times, but after the last, Tsunade had put her on a even more intense, full–scale suicide watch. Sakura had been locked in a room and even her parents hadn't been allowed to visit. All they knew was that it was helping. And it did help. Sakura hadn't tried taking her life once since the watch. Though, when Mebuki had found out _how _the watch worked… Well, she hadn't been happy. Hearing that her daughter was sedated and restrained to a bed wasn't nice. In fact it made her feel a little sick. Had they really had to go that far? Tsunade had had a look of regret in her eyes, but had said yes. Yes it had been necessary because at one point, Sakura had started harming herself and put not only herself at risk, but also other patients._

_Mebuki smiled brightly when a car came into view. Tsunade had told both her and Kazashi that she would personally be bringing Sakura home, that Sakura had requested she be there. It had upset Mebuki, but she had pushed the thoughts away. At least her baby girl was finally coming home!_

_As the car stopped and both Tsunade and Sakura got out, neither Kazashi nor Mebuki could hide their shock. Sakura… She had changed so much in so little time! Her skin was once again clear, though it still looked a little too pale, especially since the dark circles were still there. She looked as though she was back to her previous size, too. A healthy size that wasn't too big, nor too small. __That wasn't what surprised them the most, though. It was the fact that Sakura wouldn't move any closer to the house without Tsunade by her side and as they finally reached them and entered, Sakura was silent, keeping her eyes staring ahead blankly until she looked up at Mebuki._

"_Did anyone…?"_

_When her hoarse voice trailed off, Mebuki felt like her heart was being shredded. The truth was that no, nobody had come to visit her. Well, not in the past two weeks they hadn't. Usually, Sasuke would come by three times a week to see if Sakura was home and Naruto would stop by, too. However, Naruto had given up after the second month and it seemed Sasuke had given up, as well. There had been another boy who asked about her, Mebuki was certain that he was Nara Shikamaru, but that had only been the one time. Other than those three, nobody had come by._

"_I'm sorry, Sakura." Mebuki said quietly, trying to keep her voice from wavering and giving away her lie. "Nobody came by."_

_She couldn't risk her daughter being hurt again, especially not after reading her suicide letter._

_Sakura didn't reply. Instead, she simply looked away, her eyes and expression once again empty._

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><p>Things got better after the second month of her being home, though. Sakura had slowly started coming back to them. She started smiling more and actually held conversations with them instead of one–word answers.<p>

And now, even though it had taken a while, Sakura was happy once again. Her baby girl was truly back now. Mebuki didn't know how to thank those who helped enough, especially Tsunade, Itachi and Gaara. If it hadn't been for them refusing to give up on her… Mebuki didn't even want to think about what might have happened. She was just so, _so_ grateful and would forever be indebted to them. Nothing would ever compare to what they had all done. They had helped save her daughter. They were the reasons behind her smiles, now.

Gaara. Despite how rough he seemed, despite being so very intimidating, the way he looked at her daughter… It was how Kazashi looked at her and it made her so happy that Sakura could have somebody like that.

Also, thanks to some 'gentle' pushing from her daughter, Mebuki and Kazashi's marriage was no longer on the rocks. They were happy again and Kazashi was once again sleeping in their room, in their bed, with her. It was like when they first got together and he would spoil her and make her feel special, loved. He paid attention to her once again. He bought her chocolate and flowers, made her breakfast in bed and always kissed her as soon as he returned from a long day at work.

Also, to make things so much better, Sakura opened up to her. Of course there were things she still kept private and Mebuki respected that. She was just happy that Sakura felt comfortable with her once again to tell her such stuff.

Sakura was in love with Gaara. Mebuki hadn't needed Sakura to tell her that, but the blush on her cheeks as she did had been adorable! She also told her about the whole love triangle mess and whilst Mebuki didn't approve of Sakura seeing both boys at once (even if they did know about it) she was glad her daughter had finally made up her mind.

She had chosen Sabaku Gaara.

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><p><strong>AN - Heh... You probably all thought that I'd give you Gaara's reaction this chapter. Nope! I'm going to leave you all wondering just what the hell he's going to say or if Sakura even decides to tell him ;-)**

**Somebody told me that Sakura seems to be getting worse instead of better and in a way, they're right, but it's not all that surprising if you really think about it. She's finally telling people what happened to her and after ignoring what happened for so long, she's finally doing something about it. Sakura's reliving the memories she tried so hard to push away.**

**Okay, it may get a little confusing. This chapter is actually the night before (when Sakura was sleeping with Sasuke and Gaara was out with Naruto) and the next chapter will be a little later on. Not days or weeks later, more like hours, if that makes any sense.**

**I've been doing research on suicide watches and what happens in psychiatric hospitals or wards, but there are so many different stories and so much information, that it sometimes makes little sense. If you see something that isn't right, please tell me! If you have information that you think could help me, please share! :-)**

**I'm trying to show how different people reacted or react to what happened and what they found out. For Naruto, he feels guilty because he was the one who started that fight the night Sakura was attacked. He feels like it's his fault because if he hadn't lashed out, things wouldn't have escalated and Sakura wouldn't have left. For her parents, they're hurting. I don't know much about the bond a parent has with their child. It's not that I don't get on with my mum, because I do. I mean I don't always understand why she says certain things, or tells me what to do or stuff like that. I understand that a parent's love for their child is strong, but that's really all I know about it. So, I tried my best to explain how Mebuki felt when Sakura tried to kill herself.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	55. I've Made My Choice

**Chapter 55 – I've Made My Choice**

Tonight hadn't been so bad with Naruto, Gaara decided. It could have been a hell of a lot worse since their personalities weren't all that alike, but he couldn't deny that it had been rather fun once they got over the awkward small talk and then the discussion on Sakura's attacker.

No, Naruto wasn't as bad as Gaara had once thought. Sure he was a little loud and annoying, but he could see why Sakura thought of him as one of her closest, most precious, friends. He was genuine, caring and quite easy to get along with if you haven't pissed him off. Gaara had seen Naruto fighting a few times before and knew that the blond was not somebody to screw around with unless you wanted to be torn apart. Naruto was loyal and protective of his friends, especially of Sakura. It was because of that that Gaara wouldn't particularly mind being friends with him. He would never allow harm to come to Sakura and would fight hard to protect her. There was only one downside to the blond and that was that he was a bit of a party animal who enjoyed getting drunk with his friends. But at one point during the evening, he had told Gaara that he was glad Sakura no longer got drunk (because apparently she was rather violent) and that he would gladly give up alcohol and partying to spend time with her. Who could ask for a better friend?

The moment he entered his living room after returning from his night out with Naruto, his eyes seemed to train onto the envelope that was sitting on the fireplace and the moment he saw it, Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. Despite it being propped up against one of the photo frames, proving that it would be helpless without the support, Gaara felt like it was glaring at him just as much as he was glaring at it.

He knew that he had put off reading his father's letter for far too long, as both his siblings had already read theirs. They often gave him a strange look, one he couldn't understand fully. It confused him. The expression was a mixture of pain and regret. But why were they looking at him like that?

Sighing, he walked over to the fireplace and picked up the letter that had been sitting there since his birthday. It hadn't been touched or moved once, just simply left there and ignored – until now.

It felt as though it weighed so much more than it should have and Gaara felt angry with himself for feeling uneasy and perhaps even a little bit scared for what he was about to do.

He stepped away from the fireplace and sat down on one of the sofas, taking deep breaths as he slowly opened the envelope, unfolding the letter carefully and once it was opened, he hesitantly looked down at the contents of the letter, only to feel like he had suddenly been punched right through his chest.

* * *

><p><em>Gaara,<em>

_If you are reading this, then that means I am not around to tell you these things myself. I am sure that you can understand what that means._

_There are many things that I never got the chance to tell you due to my own selfishness. I was never cut out to be a father, at least not without your mother by my side, to help and to guide me. I will also admit to being too reliant on alcohol and being a terrible father to you all, but to you especially. Your mother's death was never your fault and if I could take everything I said and did back then, I would, but telling you such things isn't going to make what I did better and I know that._

_You turned thirteen the other week and despite my terrible parenting, you're growing well. I received your exam results via email, like I always have and like I expected, you passed every single one with flying colours. I am proud of you. You're a genius and I hope that, one day, you will take over the Sabaku Corporation, that you will make it even greater than what it is today._

_I also hope that, one day, you can make friends and start living the life that I always wanted you to live, the life that you deserve. Find yourself a nice woman who will fuss over you, one who makes you smile even on your worst day and makes you feel loved the way your mother made me feel and do not, no matter what happens, let her go. Treat her like she is a queen, like she is your life, because I can tell you now, you will only find love like that once in a lifetime. After I met your mother, I could no longer see other women. Their faces were blurred to me, they were not important. Karura was the only woman who could get passed my stubborn, cold exterior._

_There is something else that I need to tell you and I know that this will not be easy for you to hear (or read). I know what your uncle, Yashamaru, told you, but it was all lies, Gaara. Your mother truly loved you with all her heart. I'm sorry that you never got to meet her because she was a wonderful mother. I am so sorry that I stole your childhood from you, that I forced you to grow up much sooner than you should have and I do not expect your forgiveness. I understand if you hate me because I hate myself for everything I have done to you and your siblings._

_There are so many things that I should be apologising for, but as you probably already guessed, my letter isn't only about the wrongs I have done. There is another reason as to why I wrote it. Gaara, since you are going to take over one day, this is mostly to you, but please warn Temari and Kankuro, especially your sister! I did business with a man, not realising until it was too late that this kind of business is illegal and downright disgusting. I threatened to out him, to report him to Uchiha Fugaku, the chief of police and leader of the Uchiha Company, but before I could, Fugaku and his wife, Mikoto, were killed in a car accident and their eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, is much too young for a burden such as this and I do not want him to make the same mistake I did in trusting this snake. Know that I had no idea what his true intentions were and if I had, I would have never gotten involved with him._

_Beware of him, Gaara. His name is Orochimaru and if he tries to do business with you, report him immediately. Do not attack him. Do not try to take him on. Orochimaru is a lot more powerful than he seems and he has a dangerous amount of contacts._

_I underestimated him, which is the reason behind my leaving. I could not put any of my children in danger and had to leave in order to protect you all. The reason why I wished for you three to wait and read my letters is because I plan to contact you all on your eighteenth birthday, January 19th. However, if I do not show, I have asked Chiyo to pass along my letters. She, along with Baki, will be guiding Temari until you are ready to takeover. They will also be your carers until Temari is of age and can become both yours and Kankuro's legal guardian. They will make sure she does not continue business with Orochimaru, though I believe Temari is a better judge of character than I am and will know not to trust him._

_I hope that you never receive this letter, so that I can tell you all of these things in person, but if not, then just know that I never hated you. You are my son._

_Keep safe and take my advice to heart._

_Your father._

* * *

><p>Gaara's hands were shaking as he stared down at the letter in his hands and when something wet began to drip onto the paper, he placed it down onto the table so that it wouldn't be ruined, though his tear filled eyes never left the words for a second. There was no doubt that it was a genuine letter as it was his father's handwriting, had his father's signature at the end of it.<p>

Oh God…

What was he supposed to think about that? His father… He never hated him… He apologized for everything he had done. Not only that, but his mother never hated him, either. Gaara closed his eyes and bit his lip harshly as he tried to calm himself, as he tried to stop his tears from falling, but there was no stopping them. If anything, the harder he tried to stop them, the harder he cried.

His mother had loved him. All this time Gaara had believed his entire family despised him and blamed him for her death, but they hadn't… Had he been living a lie?

"Who am I?"

"You're Gaara." a voice spoke from the doorway, but Gaara didn't raise his head as his siblings entered the living room, sitting down on each side of him on the sofa. "You're our baby brother, always have and always will be."

"You also have one hell of a right hook."

Temari shot Kankuro a dark look when Gaara lowered his eyes to the ground. Now that his brother and sister were there, he could feel himself calming down and for the first time in a long time, he didn't mind them seeing him in such a way, acting so weak. They only wanted to help him. That was all they had ever wanted, yet he had kept shutting them out.

"Do you want to talk about her?" At Temari's soft question, Gaara looked up at her with curious, unsure eyes. He had a good enough idea as to who the blonde was talking about, but just in case, he decided to stay silent, not trusting his voice. Realising that this was Gaara's way of saying yes, Temari reached behind her back, surprising him when she pulled out a photo album. He had never seen it before, but from the designs, he would say it was Temari's. "It was our mother's." Okay, so maybe not Temari's, but still a woman's. "I found it one day when I was going through our father's things."

Slowly, she placed it into Gaara's hands and the way he held it, like it was the most delicate possession he had ever gotten his hands on, made her heart warm. "Our mother's?"

Kankuro nodded once, reaching out and flipping it around so that they could see the back. Pointing at a small mark in the bottom corner, he told him, "She always marked her letters with this."

"We think she wanted you to see this, Gaara." Temari added, her voice quiet as she watched him run his finger over the sign. "We think it may be her own letter to you." Looking down at her hands, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. "Chiyo–baa told me that our mother knew she wouldn't survive her pregnancy, that she wouldn't be strong enough to." She didn't look up as both Gaara and Kankuro's heads snapped up, obviously hearing the shake in her voice. "But… Our mother… She said that she would happily die so that you could live your life. Gaara, she loved you so, _so much_. Don't ever forget that."

He didn't want to ask why they had never told him that before, why they had never brought him this photo album, because Gaara already had a good enough idea as to why. Their father had bullied them just as much as he had bullied him and not only their father, but also their uncle, too. Not only that, but there had been no telling how he would react to being given such a thing. Before today, before reading his father's letter, he would have never considered himself worthy to be able to hold something of his mother's. Letting out a shaky sigh, Gaara turned back to the photo album, turning it back around so that he could open it and see the first picture.

"There are three albums altogether." Temari stated, watching Gaara's expression as he stared down at the sight of his scan. "One for each pregnancy."

Gaara was silent as he flipped the page, a small smile gracing his lips at the sight of his mother's smile. She was beautiful! It seemed Temari had taken after her, too, as they had the same eyes and when Temari's smile wasn't so fierce or wild, they smiled the same, too.

In the picture he was looking at, his mother seemed to be telling Kankuro and Temari the news of her pregnancy, as Temari's eyes were wide with a large grin on her face, though Kankuro was much too young to understand what was so special. Their mother also had a smile on her face as she sat with Kankuro on her lap whilst Temari was at her side. Gaara was a little jealous that they got to spend time with her, but at the same time, he felt sorry for his brother and sister. They got to know their mother and had had her ripped away from them, whereas he never had her to hold him and do things mothers usually did.

The photo album was filled with pictures, showing the three how Karura had gone on with her pregnancy and it genuinely surprised Gaara to see a picture of his father _smiling_. The stern, harsh look was gone and the softer look on his face made him look so much more like Kankuro. As it progressed, it was obvious that the pregnancy was causing her pain. Her eyes had dark circles around them, her skin was paler and she was becoming much thinner, but no matter how ill their mother looked, she kept the smile on her face and not on a single picture did it look forced.

The final picture almost caused his heart to stop.

His mother… She was _holding _him! Gaara had always known that he had been premature and it was the reason why his growth spurt had started so late, but actually seeing how small he had been… It was a miracle he was even alive! He actually fit into her hands. Well, only if she cupped them together, but still! There was a breathtaking smile on her face and even though she was sweaty, even though she was pale and looking so dangerously ill, Gaara still thought that she was beautiful.

However one thought continued to run through his mind as he stared down at the picture. She was holding him. His mother was holding him with a look of absolute adoration and love in her eyes.

It was true. She loved him.

And just like that, he was crying again.

Only this time, his siblings were there to comfort him, to hold him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Sakura tells Gaara that she chose him next chapter, but will she tell him about sleeping with Sasuke? ;-)**

**A small rant here, but not about anybody who has reviewed. This is about a message I got from my friend's ex. According to her, because he likes my pictures on Facebook and we talk every now and again, we're sleeping together. How the fuck does that work out? She started saying me all this shit about how I've been flirting with him and meeting him whilst they were together and whatnot. First of all, when they were together, I wasn't even in the same town as them (we moved). Second of all, I'd _never_ go after somebody else's boyfriend. I know how much shit like that hurts! Ugh! So pissed off because of that. It's like you can't even have guy friends anymore. So retarded.**

**Anyways, I'm going to go and read the new Naruto manga chapter.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	56. I Want To Be With You

**Chapter ****56 ****– I Want To Be With You**

On Saturday night, when Sakura hadn't called him like she said she would, Gaara grew worried. No, he wasn't being possessive or jealous, he was genuinely worried. What if Sasuke said something that hurt her? Or what if… What if she chose Sasuke and didn't know how to tell him?

As Gaara parked in front of her house, he took a deep breath. No. Sakura had promised that she would tell him the moment she decided. So what was this strange feeling in his chest? Why did he keep having this… Gaara didn't even know how to explain it. It was just a bad feeling. It was a feeling in his gut.

He knocked on the door and was surprised when Mebuki answered it, looking rather worried but the moment she saw Gaara, she quickly smiled. "Gaara–kun! It's nice to see you again."

Why was Mebuki home? She and Kazashi went away every weekend now, saying that it was really helping their marriage or something along those lines. "Is Sakura home?"

"She's…" she winced, seeming worried and distressed once more. "Sakura's not really up to seeing anyone right now, Gaara–kun."

His worry must have been obvious because she invited him in and told him to follow her and as they made their way upstairs and towards Sakura's bedroom, Gaara could feel his heart racing. Why wasn't Sakura up to seeing anybody? Was Uchiha with her? Was that what Mebuki was trying to warn him about?

When they finally reached her room and Mebuki silently opened the door, Gaara felt his chest constrict to the point of it being painful.

Sakura was curled up in a ball on her bed with what looked like a fluffy hot water bottle pressed to her stomach. Resting his large head on her side was Ao, who glanced up when he spotted Mebuki and Gaara. However, realising that they weren't a threat to his owner, Ao settled back down and huffed once, closing his eyes.

"She's not very well at the moment." Mebuki told him. "It's her time of month, you see."

That was a lie. Gaara knew that for a fact because it had been her 'time of month' the week before they first made love. Something was upsetting Sakura and it only became more obvious when he saw her tear stained face, when he saw how red and blotchy the skin around her eyes was. However, Gaara knew better than to let his anger take over him, now. He would just have to wait until Sakura was ready to talk to him and if it turned out that Uchiha had hurt her again, then he would have to answer to him, because Gaara was so tired of Sakura being hurt. No matter how much pain it caused him, he just wanted her to be happy.

Sighing, Gaara looked up at Mebuki. "Tell her I came by."

And with that, he left.

* * *

><p>Her mother had told her that Gaara came by and even though she still wasn't completely over her 'break up' with Sasuke, she couldn't deny that she wanted to see him. Somehow, Gaara always managed to take the pain away. Sakura still had no fucking idea what she was going to say to him, but maybe she'd be able to think of something when she was in front of him? Hopefully she could because on Sunday, she got in her car and went to his place.<p>

It was Temari who answered the door to her. "Sakura! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Gaara." Sakura replied with a frown. "Is it a bad time?"

"No! Not at all. He's up in his room."

Sakura's frown deepened as Temari disappeared into the living room and though she wasn't certain, she could have sworn that she heard Shikamaru. Maybe–

Oh.

_Oh_!

She all but ran upstairs, not wanting to stick around and quite possibly hear something that would scar her for life because whilst she had seen and done many things, Sakura most definitely did _not_ want to hear or see Shikamaru having sex with Temari.

Entering his bedroom, Sakura spotted Gaara sitting on his bed and reading something and the bedroom door wasn't even shut before she spoke, the words seeming to fly straight out of her mouth.

"Be with me."

Gaara looked up at Sakura, blinking once in surprise to seeing her in his room, and then raised a brow. "What?"

"I want to be with you, Gaara." Sakura told him with a soft, genuine smile. "I didn't even have to think about it – but don't worry I did so anyway because I know you hate it when I don't." Realising she was rambling, Sakura shook her head before smiling again. "Anyway, I realised that you're the one I want to be with. I want you to be the one who I'm standing next to when all my dreams come true."

"Was that a quote from a television show?" he narrowed his eyes and placed down the letter he had been rereading onto his bedside table.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It _may _have been a quote from _One Tree Hill_, but that's not the point! Gaara," her smile was soft again, though there was a hint of sadness to it, "I've completely broken it off with Sasuke. I told him that it's _you_ that I love and want to be with. I would have come to you sooner but I… I needed some time alone."

For a second, Gaara could do nothing more than stare at her in silent shock. Did he just hear her correctly? Did Sakura really just say that she had ended things with Sasuke for _him_? "What?"

Her smile widened as she sat down beside him on the bed. "I love you." Sakura whispered, refusing to break eye contact as she stared into his eyes. "I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say this, but I want to be with you." Her features became hesitant as she finally looked away and down at her hands. "When we were out the other night, Ino told me something." She looked up at Gaara. "She told me something _you_ said."

"And that was?"

"That back when everyone found out what had happened, back when Karin had shown everyone that video of us… you said to Sasuke: '_I will stand by her no matter what decision she makes_'. Do you remember?"

Gaara nodded slowly. It wasn't a day he was likely to forget any time soon. Everyone had been so open and honest all because of one jealous, annoying whore. Damn he really hated Karin. It wasn't the fact that she had recorded _his_ story – it was the fact that she had felt no regret recording and showing everyone Sakura's story. Who in their right mind would listen to something as personal as that, let alone record it for others' entertainment? Not only that, but she had so many other tapes with Sakura on them and the things that had happened were disgusting.

"You changed for me, Gaara. You were so patient and you're still so patient! Instead of forcing me to choose immediately, no matter how much it might have hurt to see me with another, you let me take my time in choosing. It wasn't until Friday night I realised how selfish my actions have been." When it looked as though he was about to argue, Sakura silenced Gaara with a small glare before speaking again. "It wasn't until the other night that I realised who truly loves me. Yes, I know Sasuke loves me as well, but you were willing to let me be with him if it made me happy." Tears filled her eyes, but Sakura forced them back. "Even if I had chosen Sasuke, you were still going to stand by my side, no matter how much it would hurt. That showed me that your feelings were true, that you love me."

His hand was suddenly on her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. "I just want you to be happy."

Sakura smiled as she closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. However, it wasn't a tear of pain or sadness; it was a tear of happiness. "And that's why I want to be with you, Gaara." she whispered, leaning into his touch. "With you, I'll always be happy."

* * *

><p>It was an hour later when Gaara finally spoke again. Until then, they had been simply laying there together, holding each other. "I read the letter from my father."<p>

Sakura was sitting up in an instant, staring down at him with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I…" he frowned and also sat up before reaching to the table and grabbing the letter. "I don't know what to think about some of the things on it." Gaara told her honestly as he held it out to her.

Only for his eyes to widen when she shoved away his hand, her eyes widening even further.

"Sakura–"

"I can't read it!" she told him with pained eyes. "I can't."

She was panicking, Gaara noticed and as soon as he did, he placed the letter down on the table once again and moved over to her, but instead of letting him hold her, she pushed him away, backing away from him. He would never admit it to her, but… it hurt. _A lot_.

"Sakura, it's okay." he told her but couldn't help but ask, "Why can't you read it?"

And then she was crying, raising a shaking hand up to her mouth. "I–I don't deserve… I don't deserve to see something so private and personal."

Okay, where did _that_ come from? Gaara narrowed his eyes but didn't try reaching out to her considering how she had reacted and if she moved back any further, Sakura would fall off the bed and most likely hurt herself. That was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"I want you to read it, Sakura."

"I slept with Sasuke!"

He was stunned into silence by her hysterical scream and they both sat there staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Had he heard her right? Had… Did Sakura really have sex with Sasuke? Gaara couldn't even deny that just the thought pained him. It made his chest feel strange. Whatever expression was on his face must have been bad because Sakura started crying even harder. However, just as he opened his mouth to say something, she hopped off the bed and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

His mouth closed. To be honest, Gaara had no idea what to say to her. Part of him was angry. So, _so fucking angry_ because she had _just _told him that she wanted to be with _him_, not Sasuke. He wanted to go out, find Sasuke and beat him to within an inch of his life! He wanted to yell at Sakura, to demand why she would do such a thing. He wanted to know why she was hurting him. The urge was so strong that his clenched fists were trembling and his breathing was quick. But then another part was quietly reminding Gaara that he knew something like this would happen (and he had even told her to 'do what she had to'). Not because he thought badly of Sakura, but because it was… Well, it was a love triangle. People always got hurt. But Sakura had promised him that she wouldn't hurt him. No. He had promised _her_ that he wouldn't hurt her.

Gaara closed his eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. It wasn't fair for him to be angry with her. Yes, he was hurt but… Sakura had to be hurting even worse right now, especially if the sounds from the bathroom were anything to go by. She was sobbing, though the sounds were muffled, like she was trying to keep quiet.

Slowly, Gaara stood up and made his way over to the door, knocking once before he opened it. His bathroom door didn't have a lock on it because his siblings knew better than to enter his room uninvited. When he saw Sakura, he almost wanted walk straight back out. She was sitting on the closed toilet seat, holding her head in her hands as she shook with her sobs. Again, his chest constricted painfully. Gaara didn't like seeing her in so much agony.

Shutting the door behind him, Gaara moved forward wordlessly and pulled Sakura to her feet, making her sobs quieten ever so slightly as he leaned her against the counter and switched on the hot tap. It took him a couple of moments to find a clean towel, but once he did, he put it under the tap and – whilst making sure it wasn't too hot for her – wiped her face clean of tears and makeup. She looked so much prettier without that stuff, anyway.

Sakura kept her eyes on Gaara's as he switched the tap off again and continued to wash her face, his other hand cradling her head like she was the most delicate thing he had ever seen and it wasn't until he threw the towel into the laundry hamper that she moved, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. Why was he being so nice to her? He should be angry with her. She wanted him to be angry with her. What she had done was unforgivable. This was… This was strange and different. She didn't know how to react to this.

"I'm–"

He cut her off by capturing her lips once again and, not knowing how else to tell him that she was sorry, Sakura deepened the kiss, dragging him closer to her. Picking up on her change of pace, Gaara's lips moved more urgently against hers and he raised his arms up when she pulled his shirt up and over his head, letting it fall to the ground. It was soon joined by the rest of their clothing.

"Just fuck me." Sakura whispered between kisses, her hands reaching behind her to use the counter as support when Gaara picked her up and wrapped her legs around his hips, entering her with one hard thrust.

In her eyes, at that moment in time, she didn't deserve for Gaara to make love to her. In her eyes, if he fucked her and took his frustrations out on her, it would help him with releasing his anger. Well, Sakura hoped that it would because otherwise, she had no fucking idea how to react or help him.

He pounded into her and the force of his thrusts made the mirror above the sink shake, threatening to fall but they paid no attention to that. All Gaara could think about was doing as Sakura said and bringing them both to completion. Tightening his hold on Sakura's thighs, he gave her a moment to adjust herself, to try and find something to hold onto, but there was nothing other than the counter. One of her hands swung through the air, her arm wrapping around his neck and her hand gripping Gaara's shoulder tightly whilst her other continued to try and keep a firm grasp on the counter. Once certain that she wouldn't slip and hurt herself on the taps, he continued his thrusts, his breath hot against her lips and their bare chests growing slick with sweat as they rubbed against each other.

Sakura could feel his anger as he pounded into her, could feel his hurt and confusion. She took it all without complaint and in return, she gave him _her_ pain and _her_ sadness. She told him through her actions that she was sorry for hurting him.

Kissing him as she started to move her hips against his, Sakura couldn't help but moan loudly, completely forgetting about the fact that there were people downstairs. Right now, she couldn't care less. The only thing on her mind was to get him to move faster, harder.

She must have voiced her thoughts because not even a second later, Gaara was doing exactly what she wanted.

It was like she was holding onto him for dear life. And she was. Sakura was afraid that if he put her down now, she would fall straight to the ground. Her legs were quivering and felt like jelly and as her shoulders and head fell back against the mirror, Sakura had to grab a tighter hold of Gaara with both hands as the condensation created on the mirror and counter almost caused her to slip.

He was close, but she wasn't there yet and Sakura could feel Gaara trying to hold on for her.

"Change position." she gasped against his lips when she moved forward.

Gaara lowered her to the ground, panting hard as he waited for her to choose the position she wanted and when she turned her back to him and leaned over the counter, spreading her legs wide, he almost lost it there and then. Moving behind her, Gaara's hands smoothed over her body, making her skin feel as though it was tingling before he was once again inside her, loving the way she moaned _his _name. Not Sasuke's. His. Sakura was _his_.

Keeping one hand on her hip, Gaara's free hand slipped down her body to the button between her folds, watching via the mirror as her eyes slid shut, as she bit her lip. Sakura was trembling against him and he could feel her finally catching up to him. He continued to slam into her, reveling in the noises he was dragging out of Sakura.

And then something happened that had him almost pausing.

It was like the mirror falling from the wall was in slow motion, but fortunately, Gaara noticed and pulled himself and Sakura away from the danger, quickly bending her over the bath across the room and continuing with his thrusts even when he heard the mirror shatter as it landed on the counter and fell to the ground.

"Y–Your mi–"

"Doesn't matter." he grunted, quickening his pace and shutting his eyes tightly as Sakura let out a high–pitched, sob–like moan.

His hold on her hips tightened as the wet slapping sound grew louder around the room, soon accompanied by Sakura as she _wailed _his name. Her legs threatened to give out on her as her orgasm claimed her, but Gaara quickly readjusted his hold and held her up. He couldn't help but give a throaty moan as he finally reached climax. As her walls clamped down on him, as he heard her scrambling to try and find something to hold onto until she reached behind her and took a tight hold of his hair in one hand and his hand that was resting on her hip with the other, pulling herself up against him, he started grinding his hips up into hers and in response she wiggled and squirmed against him, attempting to drag out the feeling.

Just as they were about to fall to the ground, both feeling completely boneless, Gaara pulled out of her when Sakura lifted one shaking leg over the bath, slowly climbing in and dragging him with her. They collapsed in it together, his back against the slanted half of the bath and her leaning forward slightly, shoving the plug in before running the water. Gaara only vaguely noticed the sticky mess between her thighs and also covering him. He was too busy still trying to catch his breath. Who could have thought that sex could be like that? It felt… It felt more like an angry workout, yet a very rewarding one. One that he wouldn't mind doing over and over again.

As the tub slowly started to fill, Sakura added a muscle relaxation bubble bath. It wasn't his. Gaara had honestly never used his bath before, preferring to use the shower instead. She had brought it one time when she had stayed over and forgot to take it home with her. When the bath was half–full, Sakura switched the taps off and leaned back against Gaara's chest, immediately being welcomed into an embrace.

She closed her eyes tiredly. Even though she had had intense, angry sex before, it was nothing compared to just now. In fact, at one point, Sakura was certain she had literally forgotten everything except Gaara's name. Reaching out, she grabbed a bar of soap and a sponge, languidly rubbing them together before dropping the soap into the water and grabbing Gaara's arm as he watched her through half–lidded eyes. He was feeling just as exhausted as her.

"I like it when you're angry." Sakura quickly cleared her throat when she heard how hoarse she sounded.

Gaara frowned and looked down at Sakura as she lazily washed his body. "I'm not angry."

She paused. "You're not?"

When she looked over her shoulder at him, Gaara shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

"Because you still chose me, didn't you?"

There was an insecure tone to his voice that Sakura knew he had been trying to hide, especially since he had suddenly tensed behind her. After moving to get more comfortable, Sakura continued gently washing his body. "I did, but you still have every right to be angry with me. I promised that I wouldn't sleep with Sasuke again."

"You didn't promise."

"Don't make excuses for me." Sakura told him as she pulled away and turned around to face him, now washing his front, determined to get rid of the evidence of what they had done so they would be clean. "What I did was wrong and it shouldn't have happened. I should have told Sasuke the moment I chose you, but I didn't want to hurt him. He…" she shut her eyes. "He looked so lost and… and lonely and I…"

"You felt sorry for him."

Sakura pressed her forehead against his chest as Gaara took the sponge from her hand and gently cleaned her body. "It sounds so much worse when it's said out loud and I know that if Sasuke ever found out that I felt sorry for him, he'd never forgive me. It's going to be hard, I know that, but I want us to at least try to be friends." She looked up at him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, but still serious and pained. "I understand if you're angry with me. Or hurt. Or if you feel betrayed. Because I know that if it had been the other way around, I'd be devastated."

It was quiet as Gaara cleaned between her thighs and once he was certain she was clean, he released the sponge and simply held her, closing his eyes. The image of her curled up in her bed, passed out from crying, continued to assault his mind. "I won't lie to you. I was hurt when you told me and I was angry, too. But… what you're feeling must be more painful. Not only do you love Sasuke, but he's also your friend and I can tell you're worried that he may not want to continue with your friendship."

She nodded once. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did about reading your father's letter. I just… I didn't think that I deserved to read something like that after sleeping with Sasuke."

Gaara still wanted her to read the letter, but for now, he simply shushed her by pressing his lips to her hair which was slightly damp with sweat. He didn't care. Just as long as he could keep holding her like he was right now, just as long as she would stay with him and only him, then he didn't care.

* * *

><p>Gaara's eyes snapped open.<p>

Shit.

They had both fallen asleep in the bath.

It seemed Sakura was still asleep, too. How she could sleep when the water was so cold he didn't know. Wait. How the hell could _he_ sleep when there was a chance they could have drowned? Gaara frowned to himself. Was it even possible to drown in a bath? Yes, he'd understand if it was a child who drowned or maybe even an old person, but him and Sakura?

Then he realised why Sakura only filled the bath halfway. It was just in case they _did_ fall asleep. Gaara was guessing Sakura had fallen asleep in her bath quite a few times, then.

Sighing, Gaara tightened his hold around Sakura and sat up, but she simply groaned and snuggled closer to him, refusing to be moved. She was like a child sometimes.

"Sakura," he didn't even realise how soft his voice sounded, "get up."

"No." she shifted against him, shivering ever so slightly. "Where the hell are your covers? My nipples could cut glass over here!"

He blinked before shaking his head. Well, at least the water was cold. "We're still in the bath. That's why it is so cold."

"Oh." Sakura replied before letting out a sigh. "Do we really have to move?"

Gaara didn't answer her as he pulled them both to their feet, only for them to pause at the sight of his bathroom. There were clothes everywhere (her bra had somehow managed to find its way over the glass shower door). His and Sakura's belongings that had been on the counter were on the ground and he heard Sakura sigh once again when she saw that her body lotion had pretty much exploded everywhere. His mirror was shattered. Some pieces of it were in the sink whilst others were across the floor, making him grimace.

"Watch where you stand." he told her as he stepped out of the bath and onto the rug, helping her out after she had unplugged the bath to let the water drain.

Turning around, he grabbed two towels, wrapping one around his waist before facing Sakura and wrapping the other around her. She still looked worn out if you asked him and even though it made his male pride soar knowing that _he _had been the one to tire her out so much, he was more concerned about getting her out of the bathroom without cutting her feet open.

"This is new."

He looked down at her and frowned. "What's new?"

The chuckle that escaped her surprised him. "I've never destroyed a room before during sex."

Well, at least he took her first time for _something_. Gaara immediately shook the thought from his head. That wasn't fair and he knew that, it was just that… Well, it was true. Despite it being his bathroom that they destroyed, he was glad to take Sakura's first time in–

Okay, so his thoughts were making no sense to him right now. Did sex do that to everyone?

"Shouldn't we clean it?"

Gaara shook his head and took her hand, guiding her over to the part where there was less broken glass and carefully stepping over it. Maybe he could somehow ask Temari to clean it for him. She had been in a strange mood lately, always asking him if he wanted anything, if he was okay and things like that. Gaara was certain that it was because of their father's letter.

Once they were in his bedroom, Gaara smirked when Sakura ripped the towel away and flopped down on his bed. She didn't even have the chance to get under the covers before she fell asleep once again. Rolling his eyes, he gently lifted her up, making sure not to wake her as he pulled back the covers, placed her down and covered her.

There was no chance he'd get back to sleep now. So, he pulled on some underwear and drawstring pants before leaving his room to get a drink. It wasn't until that moment that Gaara realised how much he needed one. Should he take a drink up for Sakura for when she woke up? Her voice was pretty hoarse when she spoke. There was no telling how long she'd be asleep for, though and besides, Sakura knew where everything was.

As his thoughts drifted to Sakura, his pace slowed. She had slept with Sasuke. Just thinking of that happening made his chest hurt, but… Gaara didn't even know what to think right now. It felt like he had already released his anger, but there was still a little of it left. Not at Sakura, but at Sasuke. Ino had warned him that the Uchiha would do whatever he had to, to keep Sakura, but really? Did he _really _think that sleeping with her would make her stay? Had Sasuke been taking advantage of the knowledge (which was now incorrect and had been for about a week now) that he and Sakura had never been together in such a way? Gaara gritted his teeth. Moron! It wasn't all about sex. The Uchiha should know that by now.

He didn't care if that was the only way Sasuke could tell Sakura about his feelings. Had he even taken into consideration the fact that Sakura may still possibly detach her mind during sex? Gaara didn't even want to think of the answer. Even just now in his bathroom, he had been watching her eyes, making sure that she stayed there with him even as he had pounded into her almost frantically.

Entering the kitchen, Gaara looked around in confusion. It was strangely quiet. He shrugged and walked over to the refrigerator, opening it and grabbing a bottle. It was only when he opened the bottle and closed the refrigerator door that Gaara saw the note on it, almost causing him to drop the bottle in his hand as his eyes widened.

_We've all gone out. You two are way too loud. I think you've mentally scarred Shikamaru, as well. He's gone quite pale and tense. Oh, Temari said you better clean up whatever you broke because there's not a chance in hell that she's stepping foot in your bedroom._

_Kankuro_

_P.S – I'm serious about wanting those tips, you know! Sounds like you're having a wild time up there. ;)_

Gaara was guessing that Temari had slapped him or something similar to that because towards the end of his two final sentences, Kankuro's writing had been nothing more than a scribble.

Great. So not only his siblings, but also Nara Shikamaru had heard him and Sakura having sex. Gaara screwed up the note in his fist and threw it on the side. He honestly had no idea how they had even… Gaara shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. The way they had touched each other had been bordering on desperate. It wasn't like their first time together (or the morning after when they had made love again). It was different. Not a bad different, of course, because Gaara wouldn't mind doing it again. Just remembering how Sakura had _screamed_ his name…

He shook his head again, shoving the thoughts away. He did not want to have a cold shower, especially since he had just woken up in a cold bath.

To make things worse, Temari wasn't going to clean his bathroom for him. Gaara sighed. He didn't like cleaning up. For detention, when he was made to clean up, he simply got on with it. But there was something different about cleaning your own mess up.

It'd be best if he just cleaned it up though, because Sakura could be quite clumsy when she was half–asleep. She might forget about the broken glass and step on it. Gaara sighed once again and made his way towards the cupboard that held the cleaning supplies. Where the hell was he supposed to put broken glass? If he put it in a bag to take out to the trash, it'd just cut right through. Not to mention that stray cats often went through the bins around his area. Sometimes, other animals that lived in the field at the back of his house did, too.

He'd just have to put it in the bin in his bathroom and when Temari was back, she could sort it out.

He made his way back up the stairs, cleaning supplies in one hand, a bottle in the other. Silently, reminding himself that Sakura was asleep, Gaara stepped into his room, glancing over in the direction of his bed as he placed his water on the dresser. She had pulled the covers up and over her head and all he could see of Sakura was a long, pale leg that looked so very inviting. He quickly looked away and walked over to his bathroom.

And almost threw everything in his hands on the floor with annoyance. Well, not annoyance, but it felt close to that. He didn't have the energy to be cleaning this shit up! Sighing, Gaara stepped over the glass and placed the cleaning supplies onto the counter. It wouldn't be fair of him to ask Temari to clean up his mess, but damn it. Why couldn't she do it for him?

Surprisingly, the moment he started cleaning, it felt like time had gone by quickly and soon enough, he was done. The broken glass was in the bin beside his toilet, everything that had fallen from the counter was back on it and the lotion that had pretty much exploded everywhere… Well, Gaara had tried his best to clean the splatters off the wall, but it didn't look as though they were going to come off completely. The floor was quite slippery now, too. He made a mental note to warn Sakura when she woke up.

Now, as he put the cleaning supplies down, washed his hands and made his way back into his room, he could relax. Gaara removed his pants, grimacing as Sakura's body lotion rubbed against his knees. It wasn't that it didn't feel nice on _her_, it was just that he didn't like how it felt on him. He used Sakura's towel to wipe the remains of the lotion off before throwing it to the ground with his pants. As he pulled back the covers, his breath caught.

To him, Sakura had always been beautiful, but now… Gaara couldn't even find the words. She was laying on her side, one arm across her stomach whilst the other was thrown carelessly across the bed. It was like she was reaching out to him, inviting him into an embrace. A one–armed embrace, but still. Making sure not to wake her, Gaara carefully climbed into bed beside her. Just as he went to move her arm so that he didn't crush it, however, he paused as his fingers brushed against something. Her scar.

He had never felt them before and now that he had, it felt like he was invading on her privacy. It sounded strange to him, but that's how it felt. Gaara knew that Sakura didn't like people looking at them, let alone touching them. He closed his eyes, remembering how it had felt to have her touch the kanji on his forehead. That had been when he completely lowered his guard, when he had fully let her in. Sakura was the only person who had touched it. Maybe she wouldn't want him touching her scars, yet.

Despite that thought, though, Gaara couldn't help but slowly run his fingers over it.

"Nobody has ever touched them before."

His eyes snapped to Sakura's, but he didn't drop her arm. She wasn't looking at him. She was staring down at her scar, her eyebrows knitted together as though she was thinking hard.

"Well, apart from Shizune–san. She's my doctor… The one who saved my life." Sakura told him quietly, her voice sounding thick and hoarse. "I… nobody else has touched them because I thought they'd be disgusted. I don't even let my parents see them."

"Scars aren't supposed to be pretty." Gaara murmured as he covered their bodies with the sheets, noticing how she shivered slightly. Still, he didn't let go of her arm. "But I'm not disgusted by your scars, Sakura. I told you before. They're a part of who you are."

She nodded. "And you want all of me?"

It was said like a question, making Gaara frown as he pulled her closer to him, finally releasing his hold on her arm so that he could do so. "I do."

"Even…" her brows furrowed and he was surprised when tears filled her eyes. "Even though I hurt you and you know that not all of me is… pretty?"

Gaara closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers, cradling her head softly when he felt a tear slip over her nose and onto his. "Nobody is perfect. You're not. I'm not."

Sakura let out a shaky laugh. "If this was a movie, this is the part where you'd say 'we can be imperfect together' or something along those lines."

He rolled his eyes, feeling a little happier now that she had stopped crying. "You watch awful movies, then."

"Shut up!" she muttered against his lips and kissed him again whilst wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her leg sliding over his hip before frowning. "You got dressed."

"I'm only wearing my underwear." Gaara told her with another roll of his eyes. "And it's because I cleaned the bathroom."

She grimaced, looking over his shoulder at the door. It had been left open, so she could see that he had in fact cleaned the bathroom. Sakura felt bad that he did it by himself since they had made the mess together. "You could have woken me up." she told him. "Or you could have waited until I was awake."

Closing his eyes, Gaara shrugged. It didn't really matter now because he had already done it. Besides, knowing Sakura the way he did, he knew she was secretly grateful that she didn't have to clean up. Even back when they had cleaned the school during detention, Gaara had noticed that Sakura didn't like to clean up.

"So," Gaara opened his eyes, looking curiously at Sakura as she teased the waistband of his underwear, "you up for another round?"

For a moment he was stunned into silence. She wanted more already? Just a moment ago, she had been worn out and upset and–

And she had been speaking about her past, about her scars. Sakura wasn't ready for more. Sure, she probably thought that she was, but Gaara could tell that she just wanted to push the thoughts from her mind.

He grabbed her hand and shook his head softly, feigning exhaustion. Well, he wasn't exactly faking since he was quite tired, but Gaara knew that he could, in her words, 'go another round'. He just didn't want Sakura to think that sex was a way to forget about things. "We're both still exhausted." he mumbled and inwardly sighed when he felt Sakura relax against him. Just as he opened his eyes and was about to say more, however, he blinked in surprise when he saw that she was already asleep.

Gaara smiled softly as he brushed the hair from her eyes, pressing his lips to her forehead before he also gave in to sleep, one single thought running through his mind.

She was his and he was hers.

No more what ifs.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I didn't update on Saturday because I was busy, but also because I'm ill, too. Not to worry, though, because my mum's booked me an appointment at the doctors for next week!**

**The funniest thing happened last week. I got a guest review calling me a "Whiny bimbo". Hm. Whiny? Okay, I'll give you that, because I know I can be pretty whiny and bitchy when I want to be. But a bimbo? Seriously? How the hell am I bimbo and what right does it give you to call me that? You don't even know me.**

**I'm going to stick to updating once a week again. Sorry!**

**This internet connection is being a pain in my fucking ass. If there are any mistakes or errors in the chapter, please tell me!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	57. Bad Memories

**Chapter 57 – Bad Memories**

"When did you choose me?"

Sakura hummed softly in confusion and looked up, but soon realised what he said as she rested her head against his chest again. "Honestly? I don't know. But I knew for certain that you're the one I want to be with the day you took care of me." she paused for a moment, remembering that Gaara always took care of her. "The day I was hungover, I mean."

That had been over a week ago, now. "Why didn't you tell me?"

There was no anger in his voice, just curiosity. "Because I had to talk to Sasuke one last time and… and it kind of scared me."

"Speaking with Sasuke?"

"No." she whispered. "That I chose you."

Gaara frowned and sat up, which made Sakura also sit up. "What?"

"Not in a bad way!" Sakura told him quickly when she spotted the angry, guarded look in his eyes. "You wanted – _want_ – to be with me for me, not my body. That's… _This_ is all new to me, too. Sasuke… He's familiar. I–I don't know how else to explain it." she groaned and put her head in her hands. "It's like… It's like switching from one brand of makeup to another. You're used to your usual, you know? It's familiar. You know how to apply it, what looks good and what makeup brushes to use to make it look even better. When you switch to a different brand, you have all this new stuff to figure out. You're not used to it. It's new and you're scared of something going wrong." At Gaara's blank look, Sakura sighed. "I know, I know. It's a bad analogy, but I don't know how else to explain it. And I know you're smart enough to understand what I mean."

He nodded slowly and unsurely. Gaara did understand it, he just didn't like being compared to new makeup. Grabbing a hold of her waist, he lowered her down on his bed and leaned over Sakura. "You already know everything about me." he reminded her. "You know about my mother, my father… Yashamaru…" Sakura stroked his face softly when she saw the pain in his eyes. "And I know everything about you. The rest we'll just figure out on the way."

Sakura suddenly smirked. "Have you been watching romance movies?"

"Just the ones you put on." Gaara murmured, looking down at her lips.

"Gaara?" she whispered as he leaned closer.

"Hn?"

"Hurry up and kiss me."

And so he did.

The sound of knocking broke them apart not long after, making Sakura groan with annoyance. Damn it! It had just been getting intense, too. She looked up at Gaara and saw him staring down at her heatedly, hungrily, and for a moment, Sakura was certain that he hadn't heard whoever it was at the door, especially as he leaned down to kiss her once again.

"Ignore them." he murmured between kisses. "Whatever they want to tell me can wait."

And as his hand stroked her thigh, Sakura could only agree as her own hands continued exploring his body. The only thing she would change about them right now was that they were both half–dressed – Gaara had said they should eat and they couldn't exactly go downstairs naked as his siblings could return at any moment – when they shouldn't be wearing any clothes at all. Quickly rolling them over, Sakura sighed as she rolled her hips against his and removed his shirt from her body. He was encouraging her with his hands smoothing their way up and down her legs and it was unknowingly how Sakura continued to grind against his erection in time with his hands stroking her.

Kissing him again as he sat up and moving her hips a little faster, pressing down a little harder, they both could no longer hear the knocking that was still going on and they couldn't hear Kankuro calling for Gaara. All they could hear were each other's breathless moans, all they could see were each other's eyes and bodies. All they could feel was pleasure and love.

But all of that was shattered as the bedroom door opened.

"Gaara, Temari needs to – _oh shit_!" Kankuro quickly turned around so that he couldn't see anything as they both broke apart and hurriedly covered themselves with the sheets.

"What do you want, Kankuro?"

At the deadly tone in his voice, Kankuro shuddered with fear. "Uh… Temari… She… Uh…" Damn, all he could see was Sakura's body and Kankuro knew that if Gaara found out what he was thinking, he'd be dead in an instant. He had thought that they were sleeping, considering how loud and wild their sex had sounded not even four hours ago! He cleared his throat. "It's serious, Gaara."

Gaara narrowed his eyes and exchanged a look with Sakura before speaking again. "How serious?"

"Just…" There was an edge in Kankuro's voice. "Put some clothes on and come downstairs."

With that, his brother was gone and Gaara was out of bed. He was no longer aroused and noticing this, Sakura sighed before also getting dressed. Clearly something _very_ serious was wrong if Kankuro hadn't teased them or made any perverted remarks. They knew that they'd hear them later, though, depending on how bad the news was.

Once they were decent, the two made their way downstairs, trying to forget the fact that not only had Kankuro just caught them about to have sex, but that Temari, Shikamaru and Kankuro had all heard them having sex earlier that day. How embarrassing! And despite his straight face, Sakura could tell that Gaara was embarrassed, too, because the back of his neck was burning red.

When they entered the living room, they found Temari standing in the middle of the room, pacing and clenching her fists repeatedly and standing beside one of the sofas was Kankuro, his face set in a grim expression that had Sakura moving closer to Gaara as they both sat on the sofa Kankuro was next to. She was closest to him, but other than looking up at him when they first entered the room, Sakura didn't acknowledge him as her cheeks were still blushing pink.

"Gaara, Sakura," Temari mumbled, finally stopping pacing as she looked at them, "sorry to interrupt you, but this is serious."

"So Kankuro said." Gaara muttered as his eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

The blonde seemed to have aged at least five years in the matter of seconds as she glanced over at Kankuro and then down to Gaara. "Hear me out, okay?" she told him and when he slowly nodded, she continued. "I was called in about an hour ago to the office by Chiyo–baa and Baki because they have some news."

"On our father?"

She shook her head. "On Yashamaru."

Gaara tensed and Sakura paled beside him. "Yashamaru as in… your uncle?"

"Yes." Temari nodded, looking between both Sakura and Gaara. "Did… Did Gaara tell you…?" Sakura nodded. "It seems neither Chiyo–baa nor Baki knew where he was, either, but our father had. Gaara, right after your seventh birthday, Yashamaru was sent to Konoha Psychiatric Hospital."

This time, Sakura tensed. She knew what would be coming.

"Yashamaru was sent to Konoha Psychiatric Hospital?" Gaara repeated before looking over at Sakura. "Did you…?"

_That_ was what she had been expecting. It was a natural reaction. If it had been the other way around, she probably would have asked him the same thing.

She shook her head, giving him a look of sympathy and wariness. "The adults are kept away from teenagers because most of them are so much stronger than them – putting us at a greater risk. The children who are under thirteen are kept away from us, too, for the very same reason." Sakura gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Gaara, but I've never seen Yashamaru. And even if there was I chance that I've passed him by, I wouldn't know or remember."

"Why?" Kankuro questioned. "I mean, aside from the fact that you don't what he looks like."

"I was sedated and locked away in solitary confinement most of the time."

It was obvious that Sakura wasn't going to say much more and Gaara honestly didn't blame her. He knew that she hated being alone and that her time in the hospital had been pure torture for her.

Temari sighed, looking at both of her brothers seriously. "He's allowed visitors since he's there voluntarily and isn't classed as dangerous." Noticing Sakura's disbelieving, wide eyed look, she explained. "Chiyo–baa said that he was scared of hurting us any more than what he already had and, at our father's suggestion, had checked himself in to try and fix whatever problems he had." Sitting down, Temari once again sighed. "Yashamaru never got over the death of our mother as she was the only family besides us three and father that he had left. She meant the world to him like I _hope _I mean to you."

Hearing the light teasing tone in her voice, Kankuro grinned and Sakura gave a small smirk. Gaara, however, seemed too stunned to say much else. "Look, I understand if you don't want to visit him, Gaara." Temari told him seriously. "When I found out, I wasn't even sure if I should tell you at all, but I couldn't keep something like this from you." Watching Gaara's reaction for a moment but finding nothing, Temari continued. "If you decide you want to visit him to… to find answers or try and get closure, then just come to me and I'll arrange a visit, okay? If it helps any, Kankuro and I will be going. But, if you'd rather have Sakura by your side, we'd understand."

Nobody noticed the way she suddenly tensed, the way her eyes widened at just the thought of going back to that place. Memories flashed through her mind, each feeling like a twisting knife to the gut until it felt like she couldn't even breathe, until Sakura was left to simply stare at the ground in fear. It was when she turned such a deathly shade of pale and started trembling that the three siblings realised something had upset her.

Gaara remembered Tsunade's warnings and knew better than to reach out and touch her, but unfortunately, Kankuro didn't. So when he put a hand on her shoulder and called her name, Gaara didn't have the chance to warn him as Sakura's eyes suddenly snapped to Kankuro's, wide, panicked and detached, before she was slamming him to the ground, pulling his arms behind his back in a restraining hold. Kankuro grunted in pain as he was taken by surprise, but thankfully, he seemed to know better than to fight back. He had clearly realised right at the last second that Sakura wasn't doing it knowingly.

However, Temari didn't and quickly stood up, rushing over to help him, but Gaara grabbed her wrist and shook his head. "Don't touch her."

"Gaara, I know you care about her, but I care about–"

"It's not that!" he snapped, though made an obvious effort to keep his voice low so he didn't scare Sakura any more than what she already was. "Look at Kankuro, Temari. He's not fighting back. He saw her eyes."

Temari frowned. "H–Her eyes?"

"Something you said must have set her off. She's having a panic attack." Gaara told her and released her wrist before carefully stepping over to Sakura and kneeling in front of her slowly. When her eyes snapped to his, he paused at the obvious fear in them. "Sakura. It's okay."

And like it was a switch, the moment their eyes connected and she heard his voice, saw that he was there in front of her and she wasn't in that awful place, Sakura came back to herself and gasped as she realised Kankuro was beneath her and wincing in pain. She instantly released him, climbing off of his back and watching as Gaara helped Kankuro up, much to the the latter's surprise.

"Kankuro," Sakura whispered before speaking more loudly, more urgently, "I–I'm sorry, I didn't–"

He waved a hand dismissively and gave her a grin, trying to calm her nerves when he saw that she was still shaking. "Hey, don't worry about it! The only thing you wounded was my pride." and his arms and ribs, but he wouldn't tell her that. "I can't believe how strong you are!"

As Sakura ran a hand through her hair, still looking shaken up, Temari hesitantly stepped forward. "Did I say something wrong, Sakura? Just… so I know not to bring it up again."

Sakura shook her head and tried her best to give the woman a smile. It wasn't believable since it looked more like a twitch of her lips. "No you just… you just took me by surprise when…" her eyebrows knitted together. "Mentioning that I should go back to the hospital just… it freaked me out a little." She turned to face Gaara, looking apologetic. "I–If you want me to go with you, I will! I promise, I will be there for you. I… I'll need some time to prepare myself, though. That place… it holds some bad memories."

"You don't have to come with me, Sakura." Gaara told her quietly, but couldn't deny that it would really help him if she was there. Somehow she always kept him calm. "It will only stress you out."

"No." she sighed, running a still–trembling hand through her hair again so that it was out of her eyes. "I'm going with you. You've been with me through a lot lately, so let me be there for you."

Slowly, he nodded once before turning to his siblings. "I will need some time to think about it."

"Take all the time you want."

Temari nodded in agreement with Kankuro. "It was worse for you than it ever was for us, so take as long as you need to."

* * *

><p>Sakura was still shaking as they returned to Gaara's bedroom. She was still pale, her eyes were still a fraction wider than what they usually were and she was sweating lightly. It seemed the panic she had been feeling still hadn't passed completely and as soon as Gaara noticed, he grabbed her hand and took her into the bathroom, stripping them both down before switching on the shower.<p>

The cool water seemed to wake her up a little bit and by the time they were back in the bedroom, it was only her hands that were shaking. Without saying a word, Gaara dressed her in some of the clothes she had left in one of his drawers and then dressed himself.

She closed her eyes, trying and failing to push away the memories. No matter how hard she tried, they just refused to go away.

* * *

><p>"<em>Just let me die." Sakura whimpered into her hands as she gently rocked. "<em>Please_. I can't stand this anymore! It hurts so much."_

_Nobody answered her. Other than the guard stationed outside her door, she was completely and utterly alone. He was scheduled to watch her until the next guard took over. Whenever she got too out of hand or looked as though she was going to try to take her life or harm herself, they would sedate her. God she hated those syringes and the drugs they used. They made her mind hazy, made her body numb and heavy until all she could do was sit there and stare._

_Right now, Sakura was in solitary confinement for fighting with other patients. Her body was aching from being slammed into the wall so many times, her throat was burning from having a large, strong hand wrapped around it and Sakura knew that tomorrow, maybe even later on today, she'd have vicious looking bruises._

_So close. She had been so fucking close to death that time. The look in the boy's eyes had been vacant. He had absolutely no idea what he had been doing. Sakura hadn't been able to breathe, hadn't been able to think… All she had done was close her eyes and smile, thinking that death had finally come to her._

_Only to wake up in this cell a couple of hours later._

_Was what she was asking for too much? People died all the time! What difference did it make if she died? None. She had no friends and as far as she was concerned, she had no family either. If they stuck around, she'd only end up hurting them, too. That was the last thing Sakura wanted. So instead she screamed at them when they came to visit, tried to make them think that she was nothing more than a crazed animal who _had_ to be put down._

_They still haven't given up on her._

_Parents really did stick with you through anything, didn't they? Right now, that thought was not comforting. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Why did somebody like her, somebody who was disgusting, selfish and pathetic, deserve people like her parents when so many innocent children had none? What made her so special? Other than fucking things up, she could do nothing. Her life meant nothing._

_And as a certain figure appeared in the corner of her room, stepping out of the imaginary shadows, that was when Sakura burst into tears. Her hands found their way into her hair, grabbing fistfuls of it as the man stalked towards her._

"_Not real."_

_His face was hidden and his outfit was just as she remembered it to be._

"_Not real!"_

_He was right in front of her now, kneeling down and tilting his head to the side, watching her with those dark eyes that always haunted her, that_ always_ seemed to be watching her. Sakura tried to remain quiet because if she didn't, then the guard would sedate her, which would put her at his mercy._

"_Not real." she whimpered as her eyes squeezed shut and her trembling increased._

_The real or not real thing was her psychiatrist's idea. Not the old one. That one had given up on her a long time ago. This new one, Tsunade, had told her that hopefully, by reminding herself of the things she saw as not being real, then they would go away. Sakura liked the new doctor. Sure, she was meaner and more blunt, but she took her job seriously. However, like with her parents, Sakura was sickened by the fact Tsunade wouldn't give up on her._

_Her eyes slowly slid open to see if he was gone…_

_Only to quickly crawl backward across the floor and scream when she saw that his face was only inches away from her own._

"_Stay away from me!" Sakura screamed hysterically as she backed up into a wall. Damn it! "Don't come any closer!"_

_But he wouldn't listen. He never listened and like every other time, he was moving towards her again._

"_Help!" Despite knowing what would happen, Sakura couldn't stop the instinctual need to call for help. Just like she couldn't that night. "Somebody, please! _Help me_!"_

"_Quiet, Haruno!"_

_Nobody was coming to help her._

_Once again, she was alone._

_With _him_._

* * *

><p>"Sakura!" Gaara shook her, his eyes wide. "Sakura!"<p>

Her eyes snapped to his, wide and panicked, before she threw herself into his arms, shaking and crying. "Not real. _Not real_!"

"It's not real." he told her quietly, holding her tightly against him. "It's not real."

No, it wasn't real.

But that was what made it so much scarier.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - That whole 'not real' thing came from _The Hunger Games_. It's not exactly like Suzanne's idea, but I do admit that that is where the idea came from.**

**I'm dying to find out what happens this week in the Naruto manga! So I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter. I kind of rushed through it so that I could go and read it. Now I have to go and edit two different chapters for other stories and only when I'm done can I read it. DAMN!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	58. I Know What I Want To Be

**Chapter 58 – I Know What I Want To Be**

"I know you want to ask." Gaara looked over at Sakura and frowned, making her roll her eyes. "You've been… not exactly different, but more cautious over the past couple of days."

It was true. Gaara had been acting a little different. "What did you mean by 'not real'?"

Sakura blinked and slowly turned around to face him. "Wait… So you haven't been acting differently because of Sasuke?" When he shook his head, Sakura took a deep breath and joined him on her bed, adjusting her silk, red robe so that her underwear wouldn't be on show. "It's kind of a technique that Tsunade–sama taught me. Back when I was in the hospital, I kept… seeing and hearing things. I kept seeing the man who attacked me." She had to refrain from rubbing her eyes since she had only just finished her makeup. "Tsunade–sama told me that whenever I see something, I should always tell myself that it's not real. I–It's hard to explain. You know like, back when we were children and we used to believe in ghosts and the boogieman? It's kind of like that.

"I would close my eyes and tell myself it's not real, but that stopped working a long time ago. It's kind of a habit when I do it. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think it ever really worked." Standing up again, Sakura made her way over to her wardrobe. "I _knew_ that the man wasn't really there because most of the time, I was locked away from everyone else with guards keeping watch of me. It would be impossible for him to get to me there." As she picked up the dress that was hanging in a dress–bag, Sakura looked over to him. "I was more affected by seeing things back then because I hadn't been taking my medication like I was supposed to. Now that I'm taking it, I don't see anybody anymore."

Unzipping the bag and not really giving Gaara the chance to reply, she glanced over her shoulder at him. "I think perhaps it'd be good for you to come with me tonight. You know, meet the Hyuuga family and… other business–stuff."

Gaara couldn't help but smirk. "I'm not a part of the company yet, Sakura." he told her patiently as he stood up and made his way over to her just as Sakura removed her robe and slipped on her dress. Once it was on, Gaara moved behind her to zip it up. He didn't like how half of her back was on show, but he couldn't deny that she looked stunning. "They won't take notice of me until I am the president of Sabaku Corporation."

His hands rested on her hips the moment Sakura turned to face him, giving him a soft smile. "And then when you _are_ president, they'll _have_ to take notice in you whether they like it or not."

Just as Gaara went to kiss her, Sakura smirked and pulled away to make her way over to her mirror. Hinata had informed her on the dress–code and together they had gone shopping for dresses, despite the fact she was supposed to run the dress by Hiashi first, so that he could make sure it was presentable. Presentable in his eyes meant it had to have a high neckline and had to be either knee–length or longer. Sakura was certain he'd have a heart attack if Hiashi stepped into her wardrobe.

Her dress was pretty simple. It was a dark silver colour and the shade of it brought out her eyes – though the dark eye makeup certainly helped, too. They looked more like the colour of fresh, green apples rather than emeralds. The dress clung to her curves, making her body appear more curvaceous than it actually was.

Sakura had been very nervous about the dress for one particular reason. It was strapless, meaning her scars would be on show. However, when she had mentioned that to Hinata, the girl had suggested using makeup or wearing bracelets. The only problem had been finding bracelets that wouldn't make her seem tacky. After all, wearing silver bracelets with a silver dress would be too much. However, when Sakura had tried them on, she had been surprised to find that they looked fine together. They were diamond cuff–bracelets, meaning they almost completely covered her scars. The parts of her scars that were on show were covered in makeup and Sakura hoped that it wouldn't rub off at one point during the night.

The feeling of something settling around her neck had her looking behind herself through the mirror, although Sakura instantly relaxed when she saw that it was only Gaara putting her necklace on her. He was so sweet!

"Are you sure it's not too much?" Sakura frowned, eyeing the top of her dress and her hip warily. One of her breasts as well as one of her hips on the opposite side of her body were encrusted with diamonds and she was certain she was wearing too many of them.

"Not at all." he murmured, his hands stroking her hips, secretly enjoying the feeling of the silk.

"Positive?"

Gaara smirked and brushed aside her straight hair so he could kiss her neck. "I'm certain, Sakura. You look beautiful."

Sakura closed her eyes at his ministrations and if it hadn't been for her promise to Hinata, she would have ripped the tuxedo right off his body and have him make love to her all night. Well, that wasn't the only reason. Since discovering that she and Gaara were now officially together, Kazashi refused to leave them alone in the house together.

Pulling away before things could go any further, Sakura looked down at her cuffs, fidgeting with them to make sure her scars wouldn't be on show. It was ridiculous how nervous she was! What if somebody saw them? What if they asked questions? She knew that it wasn't fair to judge people, but most rich people were absolute snobs. Her grandmother was. In fact, her grandmother hadn't even spoken to her since she tried to kill herself. Then again, what was she supposed to say? "_Oh hello darling, I'm glad you didn't die_"? No. But she could have at least have said _something_.

"Stop." Gaara gave her a small smile as he caught her hands but Sakura didn't see it as she kept her eyes down on her wrists. "You're only going to be pointing them out if you keep fidgeting. Unless people are looking for them, they're hardly even noticeable."

She nodded, grateful for his words. Gaara knew how big this was for her. It would be the first time in over a year that she was going out without a long sleeved top on. Yes, there were cuff–bracelets covering her scars, but not completely. Like Gaara had said, if people knew where to look and what they were looking for, then they were easy to find. Moving over to her bed, Sakura picked up the clutch that matched her dress and accessories, made sure that the invitations were there, before turning back to him. "Let's go before I change my mind."

Sakura almost wished that they had climbed down from her balcony even though she would have ruined her dress.

"There you two are!" Mebuki smiled brightly, a flash of a camera startling them both and making them pause halfway down the stairs. "You look so adorable!"

"Mom, you're acting like we're going to prom!"

As her father stepped out of the living room with Ao right behind him, Sakura almost groaned. "Don't spoil this for your mother, Sakura. As you can see, she's very excited."

"Obviously." Sakura rolled her eyes and pouted as Mebuki took another picture. "Please, stop it!"

This time it was Mebuki who pouted as she lowered the camera. "How about one picture of you both together? I promise I won't take another after that."

Agreeing, Sakura and Gaara finished walking down the last of the stairs before stopping at the bottom of them. They stood side–by–side until Sakura once again rolled her eyes and dragged him closer to her, leaning her head on his shoulder as his arm slowly wrapped around her, his hand resting on her waist. The hand furthest away from Gaara's body raised up until it was resting on his chest and when he looked down at her, she smiled. The camera flashed. Just as they looked up at Mebuki with confusion (since they hadn't been ready yet), they both smiled softly when they saw her urging them to. Again, the camera flashed.

"One last picture!" Mebuki demanded. "A family picture!"

Gaara stepped forward. "Do you want me to take it?"

"Don't be silly!" the woman said with a smile as she placed the camera on the table and set it onto a timer. "When I say family, I mean you, too, Gaara–kun. You're a part of our family now."

The look of surprise on his face was adorable and in response, Sakura tightened the arm around his waist, giving him a sort of one–arm hug. Just as they got into position with Mebuki standing beside Gaara, smiling brightly and Kazashi standing beside Sakura, looking proud and fatherly, somebody else joined the picture, making Sakura grin. Ao! He sat in front of her and Gaara. Once again, the camera flashed.

"Oh, I need to get these printed off as soon as possible!" Mebuki exclaimed as she picked the camera up and looked through the pictures. "You look so beautiful together! And Ao looks so strong and proud."

He barked once in agreement.

Kazashi kissed Sakura's forehead. "She's had a couple glasses of wine, but it's mostly just the excitement." Then, he turned to Gaara. "Take care of my daughter." The redhead nodded once and after a small pause, Kazashi spoke again, placing his hand on Gaara's shoulder. Sakura noticed how Gaara did not flinch or tense up. "She may be tipsy, but her words are true. You're a part of our family now, Gaara, and you mean a lot to Sakura. So don't only take care of her, but take of yourself, too."

"Dad…"

At her soft blush, Gaara smirked before turning back to Kazashi and smiling. _Actually smiling_. "Thank you."

And Sakura could tell by the way Gaara kept on smiling all the way to the car that her parents' words meant a lot to him.

* * *

><p>When they arrived, neither of them could hide their awe. Well, Gaara's wasn't as obvious as Sakura's but the slight widening of his eyes said it all. She looped her arm through his and when Gaara looked down at her with confusion, she simply smiled and pulled him forward. Even though he didn't like public displays of affection, there was nothing wrong with a bit of hand holding or having Sakura holding onto his arm. In fact, it made Gaara feel rather proud as he noticed the envious looks he was receiving from men who spotted Sakura.<p>

His hold on her tightened possessively as they made their way through the grand hall. Everything was so big and expensive–looking that Sakura didn't even dare to sit down! What if she somehow went through a chair and broke it? Damn! She shouldn't have eaten that double cheese burger earlier. Not only that, but there were quite a lot of snobbish looking guests who seemed very up their own–

"Sakura–san," a soft voice spoke, "Gaara–kun! I'm glad you could both make it."

They turned around and Sakura smiled brightly when she saw Hinata. She knew the dress would look great on her! It was a dress that had a high neckline and dragged slightly on the floor, but despite how much it covered, she still managed to look so very feminine. The dress was a soft lavender colour and covered her shoulders, though her arms were almost completely bare. "You look amazing, Hinata!"

"T–Thank you." She blushed, looking down at the ground. "You look beautiful, too."

Sakura fidgeted slightly and pressed her wrists closer to Gaara's arm. "Thanks! So… do we actually know anybody here? And who should we avoid?"

Hinata looked up at her in confusion but noticed a second later that Sakura was joking. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, however, a smaller girl appeared beside her with a boy not too far behind. "Hanabi," Hinata gave the brunette a small smile before turning to Sakura, "I would like you to meet my friends, Sakura–san and Gaara–kun. Hanabi is my younger sister." When the boy finally reached her, Hinata smiled. "You have already met Neji, Gaara–kun, but Sakura–san, this is my cousin, Neji."

She smiled at him and in response, he nodded once, making her sigh. "Not another one!" They all looked down at her in confusion. "First Gaara, then my dad, then _Itachi_ and now you, Neji–san! Can't men ever say 'hello' instead of simply nodding?"

He smirked at her. "Hello, Sakura–san."

"See? It wasn't so hard!" Sakura told him with a smile. "Hello, Neji–san."

Neji turned to Hinata. "Your father is looking for you."

At this, Hinata sighed and glanced at Sakura and Gaara. "I'm sorry, but I must to go. Oh! But Itachi–san should be here since he is the leader of the Uchiha Company. He was sent an invitation."

Sakura tensed. Would he invite Sasuke? The younger Uchiha was being prepared to take over half of the company once he left school and went to college, so it would be good practise. However, considering Sasuke's recent anger issues, she doubted that Itachi would risk it. Having the Hyuuga family on your back was not something you wanted. Hopefully, he would simply bring a date or his cousin, Shisui. Oh she hoped he brought a date! That way she could tease him. If Itachi brought Shisui… Well, she'd have to tease him, instead.

"Gaara–kun, your sister was also invited."

Only Sakura heard his sigh and when she laughed, everyone except Gaara looked at her strangely. Not even bothering to tell them why, she simply smiled. "I guess that means Shikamaru will be coming, too."

The couple had decided to tell a few people of their relationship not too long ago, though they hadn't gone and told everyone. So, naturally, the entire school found out about Shikamaru and his 'older woman'. Both Sakura and Ino enjoyed teasing him about it, too. Though, on more than one occasion, Gaara had stopped her, not exactly wanting to talk about what his sister did with her boyfriend.

"I suppose so." Hinata smiled before saying her goodbye and leaving with her sister and Neji.

Neither she nor Gaara failed to notice how all three of them straightened up even further, how the two girls smoothed down their dresses to make sure there were no creases. Neji always held himself well, always looked smart and proud, but right now, he looked even more so.

"I get that Hiashi has a reputation to uphold," Sakura murmured to Gaara as they went to find their table, "but does he really have to push them all so hard? I mean, did you see Hinata's little sister's face? She doesn't look happy at all!" And it was the truth. The girl looked very young and yet she also looked so depressed. Girls her age shouldn't be depressed! They shouldn't be forced to attend dinner parties such as this one. They should be out with their friends and talking about unimportant things like boys and shopping!

"All Hyuuga family members have that expression." Gaara replied just as quietly. "It's not that they are unhappy, they're simply stoic."

Sakura frowned and looked up at him. "But… you and Sai… even Itachi… have stoic expressions, but none of you look miserable. Okay, Sai looks a little bit miserable, but he hasn't lately because of Ino!" Instead of replying, Gaara simply shrugged. She sighed, knowing there was no point in talking about something she couldn't change. "You look great in a tux." Sakura told him and smirked when he rolled his eyes. "It's kind of a turn on."

The heated look that flashed through his eyes left her breathless. "Stop it."

She couldn't agree more with him. If they – _she_ – carried on, Sakura knew she was going to end up dragging him to the nearest closet or bathroom and tell him to make love to her. A shiver shot through her at just the thought and butterflies filled her stomach. Damn it! They hadn't had sex since that time in his bathroom and despite how desperate it made her sound, Sakura needed him. Would anybody miss them if they left for a little while for a quickie? She missed feeling his skin against hers, missed having him fill her–

"Sakura."

Sakura blinked and only then became aware of the fact she was biting her lip, how she was looking at Gaara with a _very_ sultry look. She immediately wiped the look off her face and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

The redhead sighed. He knew exactly how she was feeling, but he'd rather not have an erection during a Hyuuga formal dinner party. Lowering his lips to her ear, he whispered in a husky voice, "Tonight."

Her hold on his arm tightened and she felt warmth pool in her stomach. And, even though he had only whispered 'tonight', Sakura had to bite back a moan. The way he had said it… Damn. "Your place or mine?"

"Will your parents be home?"

"Yes."

"My place." Gaara murmured. "Though try not to be _too_ loud this time."

Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked. "Try not to put me through a sink _and_ a wall this time."

He couldn't help but smirk at her before straightening up once again and continuing over to their table. A little bit of innocent flirting was okay, but Gaara could already feel his body warming up and if they carried on, it would become obvious to everyone just what he and Sakura were talking about. Though, considering the looks a couple of girls sent their way, Gaara was guessing that they–

Wait. They weren't glaring at _him_, they were glaring at Sakura!

"Do you know those girls?"

Sakura followed his line of sight and narrowed her eyes at the girls. "No." Then, noticing how their eyes travelled up and down Gaara's body, her eyes narrowed even further. "They must be jealous because I'm with you."

"You think that they're interested in you?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "No! They're interested in _you_!" At the shocked look on his face, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I wasn't lying when I told you how hot you look in a tuxedo, Gaara. They think so, too." Suddenly, Sakura stopped walking and pulled him to face her, giving Gaara an impish smile. "Which is too bad, because you're mine."

And then she was kissing him. Or was he kissing her? Gaara wasn't even sure who had started the kiss.

It was when somebody cleared their throat that they broke apart and Sakura smiled brightly when she saw Temari and a blushing Shikamaru.

"Don't go getting my baby brother into trouble with Hiashi, Sakura." Temari teased with a smirk. "I'm sure you know how formal the man is. No sex until marriage and all that shit."

Sakura once again laughed and looped her arm through Gaara's once more. "I can't make any promises." Then, her eyes drifted to Shikamaru and she blinked. "Wow. You actually got him in a tux?"

Temari grinned victoriously. "I did."

"And how long did that take you?" Sakura asked with a laugh. "Ino once had a birthday party and demanded us all to be dressed formally. She had spent _so long_ trying to get Shikamaru into a tuxedo and when he turned up at her party wearing casual clothing, she pretty much had a bitch fit."

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head sheepishly and rather obviously avoided Gaara's eyes. "Well, Temari can…"

When he trailed off, Temari rolled her eyes. "I can take certain privileges away that Ino can't."

"Oh?" Sakura smirked and didn't miss how Gaara tensed. "I think I might have to try that approach."

"Try what approach?"

Hearing the new voice, Sakura's smirk disappeared as she turned to look over her shoulder. When she spotted Itachi and Shisui, she gave a nervous smile. "It doesn't matter–"

"Sex." Temari interrupted, grinning when Sakura shot her a startled look. "Whenever my baby brother refuses to do something, she'll threaten to stop having sex with him." The blonde then shrugged. "It's what I do to Shikamaru."

Silence.

And then Shisui was laughing.

The two Uchihas' moved so that they weren't stood behind Sakura and Gaara and neither failed to notice how Itachi decided to ignore what Temari had just said. Sakura wanted to ask him how Sasuke was doing, but she didn't want to ask in front of the others. It seemed he picked up on what she was asking, however, as he gave her a small smile. It wasn't genuine and the look in his eyes told her he was worried about Sasuke.

Sakura was grateful that Shisui didn't bring up the investigation, though she could tell that he wanted to give her an update. Wasn't he supposed to? Sakura wasn't sure. She knew that he was informing her parents on everything that was happening, but she hadn't heard a thing other than Karin, Suigetsu and Zaku still haven't been found.

"Oi, Sakura." She looked up at Shisui and once she asked what he wanted, he continued. "What are you planning for your eighteenth?"

She blinked in surprise and when she felt both Gaara and Temari looking at her with accusation and surprise (most likely because she had all but thrown a fit when Gaara didn't tell her about his birthday), she smiled sheepishly. "I actually forgot about my birthday." Sakura told them all truthfully, which seemed to surprise Itachi, Shikamaru and Shisui. It was no secret that she had always been spoilt, after all. "Uh… It's like the…"

"The fifteenth." Itachi told her, his lips twitching for a moment with a smile. "Meaning your birthday is in two weeks."

"And you still haven't planned anything!" Shisui teased with a smirk. "What happened to all those ideas you had when you were about thirteen?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. It seemed Shisui could still act a lot like Naruto when he wasn't on duty! Or was it that Naruto acted like Shisui? It was so confusing! "I can't even remember any of those plans, so how can you?"

The older Uchiha smirked. "I have a very good memory."

And at the look in his eyes, Sakura glared at him. "You better not be thinking of that time I caught you and Naruto spying on me!"

"What?" Shikamaru laughed. "You caught them and they're still able to move around?"

Again, she rolled her eyes. "Surprisingly. Not only did I beat the shit out of them, but so did Kushina–san. It was back when we all went on holiday together with our families."

Shisui rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Gaara. "Aw, come on, Sakura–chan! We were only kids back then."

"And you still have not changed."

At Itachi's remark, Sakura started laughing. "Still got girls beating you up for being a pervert, Shisui?"

He sighed. "If I knew that coming here would mean I get picked on, I would have never agreed."

"Don't be like that!" she grinned. "I'm only just getting started on getting you back for all those times you picked on me when we were kids!"

"You'll be here for a while, then."

Sakura shrugged. She had missed hanging around with Shisui! "It's always fun annoying an Uchiha."

Shisui laughed. "Yeah, but I bet you can't annoy Itachi!"

"Even if I did, he'd never outwardly show it." Sakura told him without missing a beat, smiling at Itachi. "Unlike you, Shisui, he's too polite." Just as he was about to reply, three more people joined them and Sakura's smile grew. "You're back!" Neji and Hanabi smiled politely before going back to their usual stoic expressions whilst Hinata smiled more genuinely.

"I bet you can't annoy these three, either." Temari stated, continuing with Sakura and Shisui's conversation because, honestly, it was rather amusing.

Again, Sakura shrugged. "Like Itachi, they're too polite and kind to outwardly show their annoyance with me. Though, I know I've annoyed Itachi quite a few times." Her grin returned, almost making Itachi groan. _Almost_. "This one time, I dragged him to the mall with me and he was supposed to keep me on a budget, but I ended up sweet talking him into giving me more of my money _and_ carrying my shopping bags!"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence before Shisui burst into laughter. Itachi sighed. "Sakura, must you–"

"Yes."

"I see."

Her grin grew as she nudged Gaara. "Gaara is the only one who can make me stick to my budget."

"Oh, _that _I can believe!" Temari laughed. "Though I know for a fact that he probably spoiled you that day."

Sakura blushed. "Well… he did buy me a bracelet. And treated me to lunch. And then dinner."

"All whilst you were _supposed_ to be in school."

When Sakura laughed sheepishly, Gaara looked down at her and smiled. He liked this Sakura. She was truly happy and was surrounded by her friends. There was a warmth in her eyes and as they locked with his, the warmth only grew. It made his heart and stomach do strange things, but Gaara had learned that it was somewhat normal whilst around her.

"You can't say that any of you haven't skipped school at least once!"

All Uchiha and Hyuuga family members shook their heads, though that wasn't really a surprise. Sakura knew how hard Fugaku had pushed Itachi and when Shisui's parents died and he had moved in for a while, he had pushed Shisui, too. They were both geniuses. Neji, from what Sakura had heard, was also classed as a genius. Hinata and Hanabi, since they were Hiashi's daughters, would never have had a single day off unless they were truly sick.

Temari shrugged. "I hated school. It was full of bitchy, two–faced girls and guys who were always trying to get into the girls' pants!"

"So nothing new, then." Sakura groaned with a roll of her eyes. "All guys think about is sex!" She felt both Gaara and Itachi's eyes narrow on her and she didn't fail to notice how Hinata and Neji both blushed, one more so than the other. "Okay, okay! Not _all _guys, but most of them! And Shikamaru, don't you dare go silent. You used to skip school with me and Naruto _all the time_. In fact, you knew the best spots!"

But he wasn't listening to her, making Sakura frown.

The blonde by his side elbowed him in the ribs. "Oi, don't be so–"

"That girl has been staring at you for about twenty minutes." Shikamaru told Sakura and rubbed his side, his eyes inconspicuously sliding to the girl standing not too far away, staring right at Sakura.

Frowning, Sakura glanced over her shoulder and when she spotted the auburn haired girl watching her, she gave a small smile. Unfortunately, the girl seemed to think it was an invitation as she quickly walked over to them, holding the front of her dress up ever so slightly as she did so.

Honestly, the girl looked like a spoilt brat. Okay so 'brat' was a bit harsh (very harsh), but she just seemed like the kind – seemed like a younger Ino. Her red–brown hair was pinned back and her almond shaped eyes were dark and framed by long, thick eyelashes. Her makeup was done perfectly and her dress… just wow. It was black, strapless and pooled around her feet. Once she lifted the dress to walk forward, Sakura noticed she had diamond encrusted shoes. However, Sakura couldn't say anything about them since she also had a pair in her wardrobe, although she had only ever worn them once and that was to a wedding.

"I'm sorry for staring," the girl said to Sakura the moment she reached the group, "my name is Moegi and I just wanted to say that your jewellery is beautiful and would match a dress I have at home perfectly! Where did you get them from?"

For a moment, they were all stunned how she didn't even give Sakura a chance to introduce herself and not only that, but she had completely ignored the fact there was somebody attached to her arm as well as the rest of the group. Then, before Sakura could even say anything, Moegi stepped forward and lifted her wrist, making the pink haired girl tense and tighten her hold on Gaara's arm. The way she was practically shaking seemed to go unnoticed by Moegi, though the rest of the group certainly noticed it.

"These are stunning! How many carats are there? And they _are _real diamonds, aren't they?"

It was when she turned Sakura's arm over to get a better look at them that Moegi saw them. That they _all _saw them. Sakura's scar.

Moegi's eyes snapped to Sakura's extremely guarded and defensive ones and it was only then that she noticed that Sakura was only just holding it together.

"I–I'm so sorry!" she whispered, though didn't let go of her arm. Instead, she gave a sad, understanding smile. "I just… I didn't think! But, if you were attempting to cover your scars with makeup, you should go for a slightly darker shade." When they all simply stared at Moegi, the girl turned her wrist around and it was only then that they noticed the slightly darker patch of skin. "I really am sorry for… doing this." Moegi told Sakura softly. "I saw your bracelets and thought it'd be an easier way to cover them, which is kind of why I turned your arm. I am–"

She was silenced by Sakura wrapping her arms around her and for a moment, Moegi could do nothing but stare at the faces of Sakura's friends before she wrapped her own arms around her. And when they parted, Sakura looked over at her friends. "You guys don't mind if I speak with Moegi in private, do you?"

They all smiled and shook their heads.

* * *

><p>They sat together at the bar and talked and as they did, Sakura realised that Moegi was nothing like how she had presented herself. She wasn't bratty or superficial. Like her, Moegi was blunt and could sometimes sound a little bitter and harsh, but other times, when she was talking about things that meant something to her, her voice would soften and she would smile or frown.<p>

"So when did you start?"

Sakura glanced at Moegi, regarding her silently for a moment as the auburn haired girl took a sip of her champagne. Even though she should have, Sakura didn't say a thing to the bartender about Moegi being underage because if it wasn't for her medication, she would probably be drinking, too. "Start what?"

"Self–harming."

"I didn't." Sakura said softly and when Moegi shot her a look of confusion, she sighed and lifted her wrists, removing her bracelets and revealing her scars, her heart hammering in her chest as she did. "I tried to kill myself."

Moegi glanced at the scars and then looked down at her own, even though they were covered by makeup. "And did they admit you to a crazy hospital, too?"

Sakura's throat tightened. "Yes."

"I hated it there." Moegi whispered before gulping down the rest of her champagne. Oh how Sakura envied her! It would have made their conversation so much easier if she could drink. "My doctor was a total bitch and kept asking why I wanted to 'mutilate myself'." Her nose wrinkled and she ignored the strange look the bartender gave her as he brought her another drink. "Whenever I said it was a good stress–reliever, she would have a massive rant at me, saying I'm only causing myself and my family more pain." Moegi snorted. "Like they even care! They only sent me to her because they don't want me destroying their reputation."

"You should go to my psychiatrist." Sakura told her quietly because while Moegi seemed to not care who heard her, she certainly did. The last thing Sakura wanted was for more people to find out about her scars. It was bad enough her friends had just seen them! Yes, Gaara and Itachi had seen them before, but none of the others had. "Her name's Senju Tsunade and she's great at what she does. Since she took over, because my last psychiatrist gave up on me, I stopped trying to kill myself."

Dark eyes shot to hers. "Stopped? As in you tried more than once?"

Slowly, Sakura nodded and took a deep breath. She silently debated on whether or not it would kill her to have just a couple of drinks but as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of her friends, her eyes locked with Gaara's. He shook his head at her as though knowing what she was thinking and didn't seem happy that she was at the bar. Sakura turned back around. "Four times. Well, over twenty times if you count all of the fights I got in." She glanced at Moegi. "Since you've been there, I'm sure you noticed how unstable the other patients were, especially the dangerous ones." Moegi nodded and shivered slightly. "I picked fights with them hoping they'd go too far and kill me. Dying was all I could think about and from the moment I woke up, I'd plan on who to piss off and how." This time, it was Sakura who snorted. "Some of them were so easy to anger that it actually made me happy. Now it just makes me feel sick with myself for taking advantage of them."

The girl by her side stared hard at the bar in front of her. "I've never had anybody to willingly talk to about this sort of thing before. All my friends think I'm an attention seeker and my parents think I'm going through some kind of rebellious stage."

"Then you need new friends." Sakura said seriously. "Give me your phone." Frowning, Moegi did so and once she had, Sakura typed in her number, her name and took a picture of herself just in case Moegi forgot who she was. After all, the girl was already drinking and it had only been an hour and a half since they arrived. "Whenever you feel like you need to talk to someone, even if it's three o'clock in the morning, ring me. I know what it feels like to be alone and I wouldn't want anybody to go through that." After handing back the phone, Sakura put her bracelets on once again. "If you want somebody to scream at or to rant at, I'll listen, okay?"

A smile graced Moegi's lips as she nodded. "Thank you, Sakura." Somebody calling her name grabbed her attention and Moegi groaned. "My mother. I suppose I should go and sit with them so they can continue to show me off." Sliding off her seat, Moegi once again smiled at Sakura. "I'll text you in the morning so that you have my number, too. That way, if _you_ need somebody to scream at, you can scream at me."

Sakura smiled softly as she watched Moegi go over to her parents before gazing down at the bar and frowning. Moegi was only fourteen years old. That was the thing that kept running through her mind over and over again. Fourteen years old and she had been self–harming for three years. It broke Sakura's heart.

Sighing, she stood up and after she made sure that her bracelets were covering her scars as best as they could, Sakura walked back over to her group. She immediately made her way over to Gaara, looping one of her arms through his. He looked down at her questioningly, but Sakura simply shook her head. Even though she told Gaara all of her secrets, she couldn't tell him Moegi's. It wouldn't be fair of her and it would destroy the trust that was building.

As the night went on, Sakura noticed on more than one occasion a few of her friends glancing down at her wrists. First, it had been Shisui, though it had only been once and he quickly looked away. Then, it had been Temari and Shikamaru, the latter taking longer to avert his eyes and when he noticed the end of one of Sakura's scars, he had looked pained. Even Neji and Hanabi had been caught staring at her wrists. After that, Sakura kept them against her or Gaara, refusing to let anybody see them. They had all shot her apologetic glances, but she pretended not to notice them and had instead focused on Gaara, Itachi or Hinata. They were the only ones who hadn't looked anywhere other than her eyes. Sure, two of them had already seen her scars, but still. It meant a lot to her that they didn't pay any attention to them. It helped her relax a little.

Thanks to Hinata, she and Gaara were sharing a table with Itachi, Shisui, Temari and Shikamaru. However, Hinata couldn't sit with them because she, Hanabi and Neji had to sit with Hiashi. Then, came the speeches. Temari and Itachi had to get up at one point and give a small speech, though nowhere near as big as the one Hiashi had to give. Sakura had almost fallen asleep and would have, had Gaara not nudged her every now and then as well as Shisui teasing her. Shikamaru, however, _had_ fallen asleep. And paid the price for it when Temari noticed. He was now on a sex ban for two weeks. Sakura had laughed so hard at Gaara's disgusted expression.

"You'll be up there one day, Gaara." Temari said proudly as she sipped at her champagne. She was the only one on the table drinking. Shisui would have had a few, but he had work in the morning.

Gaara simply nodded once. He didn't exactly enjoy the thought of having to go on stage and talking in front of hundreds of people. No, he didn't get stage fright, he just didn't like talking all that much.

"Hopefully, it'll be soon." she then said. "I hate it."

"You know how to get somebody excited, don't you?"

Temari turned her head and smirked impishly at Shikamaru. "You know I do." But then her expression turned serious as she looked back at Gaara. "The company was never meant for me, Gaara. It's yours. As soon as you're ready, I'm handing the damned thing over. I'll still help out and everything, but I'll just be glad to have it off my back."

"Controlling an entire company is stressful." Itachi agreed. "That is why I am handing half of the Uchiha Company over to Sasuke once he's ready."

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, everybody noticed how suddenly Sakura tensed and her expression saddened ever so slightly. A second later, however, she gave a genuine smile. "I think that's a great idea! You need to relax more, Itachi, otherwise you're going to make yourself sick."

"So you have told me."

"And so I will continue to tell you!" she smiled and then looked at Gaara. "You better not let yourself get stressed, either, because I'll nag at you, too!" Gaara simply gave her a small smile.

"What are you planning on doing when you finish school?" Shisui asked her. "Are you going into fashion like your mother?"

Sakura shrugged and frowned. "I've thought about it, but I honestly don't know what to do. I think…" she paused for a moment. "After meeting Moegi tonight, I think I want to become a psychiatrist." Sakura smiled sheepishly. "I don't know if it'll even be possible for me to be one, though. I'm going to ask Tsunade–sama during our next session."

"You'd be a great psychiatrist." Shikamaru told her as he finished his drink. "You have personal experience, so you can actually understand how your patients are feeling instead of just saying you do."

"They'd be stupid not to let you!" Shisui exclaimed. Again, not only Sakura was reminded of Naruto, but so was everyone except Temari (since she still hadn't had the 'pleasure' of meeting him yet).

That was what she wanted to do. Sakura wanted to help people who were suffering or had been suffering. She wanted to show them that there was somebody who understood them and that they weren't alone. Smiling to herself, Sakura looked across the room and spotted Moegi. Her parents were on one side of her and the smile on her face was fake. However, instead of allowing her misery to show, she smiled and played nice with the rest of the table. And just like she had told Sakura, her parents were showing her off. She had thought Moegi had been kidding.

It was decided. She was going to go into psychiatry when she finished school and if it wasn't possible then…

Then fuck them. She was going to be a psychiatrist whether they liked it or not!

* * *

><p>Sakura would probably never tell Gaara, but she enjoyed being on top, loved being the one who was giving the pleasure. It made her feel more in control and as she looked up at him from under her lashes, watching as he gazed down at her with a half–lidded, lust–filled stare, it made her feel… <em>powerful<em>. The feeling only increased as Gaara's hold on her hair tightened, as his head fell back onto his pillow and his mouth opened with a barely audible moan.

It made _her_ feel good knowing that she was bringing him such pleasure. Seeing the look on his face, the blush on his cheeks, brought her pleasure, too.

Relaxing her throat, Sakura took as much of him into her mouth as she could and her hands made up for the parts that she couldn't. It seemed he liked it when she ran her tongue up his length and swirled it teasingly slowly around his tip, when she placed hot kisses against his member, because Gaara's hips suddenly bucked and a breathless moan tore from his lips.

"Sakura." his voice was husky and low as he closed his eyes. "I need to be inside you."

She moaned in response, her hand twitching on his length to go to the place between her thighs and deal with the throbbing sensation that doubled at his words.

Ignoring his grunt of protest, Sakura pulled away, his member leaving her mouth with a popping sound before she was straddling him. "Then have me."

Those had been her exact words right before their first time together.

He quickly rolled them over, watching her eyes as he gently slipped inside of her and enjoying the gasp that escaped her.

His hand smoothed up her thigh as he rocked within her, watching as Sakura's eyes slid closed, as she moved with him and panted against his lips. God he loved seeing her in such a way. She looked so natural and so beautiful, like she hadn't a care in the world. Lowering his lips to hers, Gaara kissed her softly, tenderly, before his lips moved away and he kissed his way over to her jaw, her ear, her neck, leaving a trail of heat wherever his lips brushed against her skin.

There was a blush staining her cheeks when Gaara kissed his way back to her lips, but he knew that he also had the same blush. It was not a blush out of embarrassment or humiliation or shame. It was a blush of pleasure, of arousal. His forehead pressed to hers and he closed his eyes, pausing his thrusts for a moment despite Sakura's whimper of protest. She seemed to understand though, because when his eyes opened and he looked down at her, the smile she gave him warmed his heart. She knew that he was trying to hold on for her.

The feeling of her thigh shifting, lifting higher and higher until it was almost over his shoulder, had his eyes widening and a soft moan escaped him as he slipped deeper inside of her. He wasn't going to last much longer if she carried on this way and Gaara was determined not to let that happen.

"Sakura," he breathed against her lips, causing her to shiver.

"Trust me," was all she said and her back arched as Gaara readjusted his position so that he was hovering higher above her on his knees, allowing more space between them so that her other leg could copy the first. This time, they _did_ go over his shoulders.

Gaara held onto her thighs tightly as her hands fisted the sheets above her shoulders, just barely holding back her moan of pleasure. However, all thoughts of being quiet in case his siblings heard them were gone as Gaara continued his thrusts. They were faster this time and the force of his hips slapping against hers was enough to cause the bed to begin to creak, to cause the headboard to knock against the wall.

His lips parted and his breathing was coming out in pants. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed when things got a little rough or dirty between them. Sure, it wasn't that rough, but they most definitely weren't being gentle. It was part of who he was, after all. Gaara was a rough person. The only person he was gentle with, was Sakura. But she had proved on more than one occasion that he didn't always have to be gentle with her. She enjoyed his roughness just as much as he enjoyed it when she got rough.

It was with that thought that he pulled away, but before Sakura could even complain, he was flipping her over and dragging her hips backwards and up to his, spreading her legs further apart and barely even giving her the time to adjust when he once again entered her.

She couldn't keep silent this time. She didn't want to. He was animalistic and she loved every second of it. He leaned over her, nibbling and pressing hot kisses up and down her shoulders and neck, ones that made Sakura feel as though she was melting and when she felt Gaara's lips against her ear, when she heard his heavy breathing, his moans, the heat that had been coiling within her suddenly became much tighter.

"Gaara." The way she said it caused him to shiver and he loved the way his name sounded when she moaned it. He could tell what Sakura was trying to say. She needed more. It was just out of reach.

Pushing off the bed so that he was on his knees, Gaara pulled her up against him, her head falling back against his shoulder, her hips squirming and grinding into his. As he began to move within her once again, just as forceful as before, his hands stroked their way across her body, caressing her skin until one hand was cupping her breast whilst the other was holding onto her hip. It soon moved from that place however when she reached behind her and held onto him, moving downwards so that he could find the button within her folds.

That did it.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, her breath catching in her throat for a moment until she was crying out, until her hips started to buck out of time. When that happened, Gaara lowered her to the bed once more, his thrusts coming much wilder as her orgasm brought forth his own.

The sound of his bed creaking and banging against the wall, of his skin slapping against hers, of her moaning his name like a mantra… It may not have seemed like much to anybody else, but it was all too much for him. He had never heard something so erotic before and if his mind hadn't suddenly gone blank, Gaara knew that he would be thinking about how he could now understand what Sakura meant the first time she stayed over at his house on New Year's Eve. The sound of pleasure was so very erotic, but because he had never experienced that pleasure before, he couldn't understand the big deal at the time. How could somebody crying out in such a way be a turn on? Now he understood.

_Oh God_ he understood.

He collapsed on top of her, pinning Sakura to the bed beneath him. He continued to rock against her, within her. Gently, tenderly. His hand reached out for hers, which was currently laying flat across the bed near her head and once he covered it with his own hand, entwining their fingers, she smiled softly and closed her eyes. As they finally came down from their high, Gaara placed affectionate kisses against her jaw and neck, listening to the way that, once her breathing had evened out, she released a soft sigh.

"_It's about time!" _a frustrated voice yelled through the wall Gaara's bed was against and it was only then that they remembered Kankuro's room was next door. "_You guys are at it like fucking rabbits! If you're going to fuck, at least be quiet or move the damn bed! Some of us are trying to sleep!"_

They didn't let Kankuro's angry yells bother them. In fact, they barely even heard him.

Feeling Sakura shift beneath him, Gaara lifted himself slightly, only just pulling out of her as she turned around to face him and opened her arms to him, welcoming him into a warm and sleepy, loving embrace. Laying comfortably between her legs and resting his head on her chest, Gaara couldn't help but smile. She was running her hands through his hair, the movement relaxing him even further than what he already had been and it wasn't long until he fell asleep in her embrace.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Originally, the last part of this chapter wasn't going to be here. It was going to end with **"_Then fuck them. She was going to be a psychiatrist whether they liked it or not!_" **but sharinganintheeyes asked for a blowjob to be put in. And I thought "meh, I don't see why not". I know you asked on an earlier chapter, but this was the only place I could put it. It's only short, I know, but when I start writing, I tend to just go with it.**

**It's boiling here! Like I feel as though I'm melting and I don't like it at all!**

**Any predictions on how you all think the story is going to end? ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	59. It's Him!

**Chapter ****59 –**** It's Him!**

Her parents were going away for the weekend, which was why she was currently grinning like she had just won a fantastic prize even though she was still half asleep. In a way, she had. Since her parents were going away, that meant Gaara could stay over for the entire weekend. Her father never really felt comfortable with Sakura having boys sleeping over, especially after hearing about what happened to her, so respecting his wishes, Gaara didn't sleep over that often. It was also mostly because of this that they refrained from doing anything sexual whilst her parents were in the house.

Ever since she had stopped automatically detaching her mind, Sakura had wanted to take advantage of that. It was partly because it felt so good to finally be completely there, to actually feel everything that was happening instead of watching in some sort of out of body experience, but it was mostly because she just enjoyed being able to be with Gaara in such a way.

Don't get her wrong, their relationship wasn't just about the sex, because there were many times when they simply slept next to one another or did other things to show their love. However, Sakura loved being connected to Gaara, she loved how it felt when he was inside of her because it felt like she was finally complete, even though that sounded pretty nerdy, in her personal opinion. There were many times though when she just enjoyed being near him, just talking or listening or doing whatever they wanted together. Hell, she had even goaded him into play fighting with her the day after the Hyuuga dinner party!

It was pretty funny, too. She kept poking him in the side (which she had found out was ticklish when you touched a certain spot) and his cheek until finally, Gaara had started poking her back. It wasn't until he had her pinned to the ground with her arms on each side of her head that he had realised what she had been doing and by then, he had been having too much fun to even care.

The sound of whining caused Sakura's eyes to open and she was a little surprised to see how close Ao was to her. All night he had been barking over nothing and when she finally let him in the house, he wouldn't leave her side. The dog even followed her to the bathroom as well!

"Come on, then." Sakura sighed as she threw back her covers and got up.

Immediately, Ao leaped off of the bed and not for the first time, Sakura was surprised with how light he was on his feet, especially when he was such a big dog. Not only that, but he was fast too! If she was to compare Ao to any other dog, she would say he was even bigger than Akamaru, Kiba's dog. Whenever she took Ao for a walk, it always made her smirk when she saw the looks she got from people passing her by, no doubt they were always wondering how such a small girl could handle such a large dog. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for Kiba's mother training Ao, she never would have been able to handle him.

"You better not bark all night again tonight, Ao." she warned the dog as they descended the stairs. "Mom and dad might not be here, but Gaara will be. He has trouble sleeping just like I sometimes do, so try and keep it down, okay?"

The dog didn't reply to her, but she could tell that he somewhat understood because also like Akamaru, Ao was smart and always obeyed her orders.

When they finally reached the kitchen, Sakura unlocked the back door and Ao was outside in an instant, going near the end of the garden to do his business. As she waited for him, Sakura read the note her mother stuck to the refrigerator. It seemed they left early.

_Sakura,_

_Just in case you've forgotten, your father and I are going away for the weekend. I've left some money on the side for you and Gaara to get takeout, because even though you told me you won't have any friends over, I know he'll be there. I've told Itachi that we'll be going away and asked him if he can check up on you every morning to make sure you've remembered to take your medication. He said he'll come over at around eleven every morning until we return. _

_I hope you enjoy some time alone with Gaara __–__ the both of you deserve it after everything that has been happening lately. Just please be safe.__ I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet._

_Love,_

_Mom_

_PS __–__ If that dog keeps me up again when we return, I swear I'll be taking him to the nearest farm!_

Sakura shook her head and chuckled at the last sentence. She knew that her mother wouldn't really get rid of Ao – she adored him just as much as Sakura did. In fact, it was Mebuki who had bought him the luxurious kennel outside, one that was heated in case it was a little chilly at night. Not only that, but she bought him his own bed and other little treats too. The dog was nearly as spoiled as she was!

Looking up at the clock, Sakura noticed that it was almost eleven already. She overslept quite a bit, she noted whilst whistling for Ao to come back in for his breakfast. At the sound of her whistle, he was instantly by her side. However, just as she had shut and locked the back door and reached for his bowl, the sound of somebody knocking on the front door had Ao racing to it and barking loudly. In her opinion, the only bad thing about the dog was that he was too damn loud! Placing down the bowl, Sakura followed after Ao.

"Oi, back off! I need to open the door." she told him and rather reluctantly, Ao did as she said and sat at the foot of the stairs, though Sakura could tell he was ready to jump into action at any moment. Sighing, she opened the door and smiled at Itachi. "Come in. I've only just woken up, so I haven't taken my tablet yet."

Itachi nodded once and eyed Ao as the dog eyed him. After a couple of moments though, he followed Sakura into the kitchen and immediately the dog was following them. "He's quite the guard dog." Itachi commented as he watched Ao take a seat beside Sakura's feet whilst she filled his food bowl. The whole time, he never stopped staring at Itachi.

"Mm," she agreed and put down the bowl. In an instant, Ao was devouring his food. Then, Sakura started pouring some cereal. "Do you want anything?"

Shaking his head, Itachi took a seat at the island in the kitchen. "Will you be okay here for the entire weekend?"

"Yeah, Gaara will be over at about five when he's finished at some meeting." There was a brief pause before Sakura turned to face Itachi. "How's Sasuke?"

There was the sound of a deep breath being taken as Itachi leaned back in his seat, trying to think of a way to answer her question. Since Sakura and Sasuke had ended things, they hadn't spoken much, but that was partly because Sasuke had thrown himself into his training and didn't really have the time to see his friends. It wasn't like the last time though. When Sakura had disappeared, Sasuke had been filled with anger and pain and what made it worse was that he didn't even know why she left. Now, however, even though Sasuke was hurting, he had put his anger into his training and because he knew why this time, he had accepted it.

"Sasuke is training hard." Itachi replied after a moment of silence. "Unlike the last time, he now knows that there was nothing else he could have done and because of that, he accepts it. The last time, he didn't know anything."

She nodded silently and shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Damn she loved this stuff! Cookie Crisp had always been her favourite cereal. With a small smile, Sakura looked at Itachi. "I do miss him, you know." When he raised a questioning eyebrow, she continued. "He was my first love and I'm not going to forget him any time soon. I just wish he would at least talk to me because I still want him in my life. We used to be best friends!"

"He will come around in time." he told her with a small smile before changing the subject. "Do you have any plans for the day?"

It took her a couple of moments before she answered. "Apart from walking Ao and waiting for Gaara, nope, I have nothing else planned."

"Would you like for me to accompany you?"

Sakura smirked whilst finishing the last of her cereal. "Well, Itachi, you know I don't think of you in such a way… and besides, I don't think Gaara is into threesomes." Just like she had hoped, a faint blush swept across Itachi's cheeks, making her laugh loudly. "It's been _so_ long since I've seen you blush! I'm sorry; I just had to do it."

Rolling his eyes, Itachi decided it was probably best not to say anything at all. But damn… he just really hadn't expected her to say something like that! It had taken him by surprise to say the least.

"And yes, by the way." Sakura added a little more quietly as she stood up and placed her bowl and spoon into the dishwasher. "I would like for you to come with me. We haven't been hanging out as much lately. I miss you."

Yes, he had noticed that too, which was why he had asked her in the first place. Itachi wasn't one to ask somebody to spend time with him, as it was usually the other way around. But it was different with Sakura. She was like a little sister to him and after seeing those videos and hearing about what had happened to her, it made him realise just how precious she was to him. Sasuke had tormented (not teased, _tormented_) him about it, though Itachi wasn't too surprised about that.

"Good." he gave her a soft smile before his features grew serious. "Now take your medication."

With a groan, she did as she was told.

* * *

><p>"So Sasuke doesn't hate me?"<p>

Hearing the quiet voice from beside him, the one filled with pain, sadness and hope, Itachi sighed. He had known that Sakura would ask him about Sasuke again. Actually, he had known since the Hyuuga dinner party last weekend. It was also last weekend that Itachi had realised how deeply Gaara cared for Sakura and how much she cared for him in return.

"Sasuke will never be able to hate you, Sakura." Itachi told her as they walked through the park with Ao by Sakura's side. "I won't lie to you and say that he is doing well, but he's doing better."

Sakura thought back to when she had stepped out of the room, how his bedroom door had barely even been shut properly before Sasuke had started trashing his room. She was just thankful that he suppressed his anger until she was out. It would have terrified her and he knew that. "I wanted to ask you about him last weekend," Sakura told Itachi truthfully, "but I didn't want to bring it up in front of everyone. I know that Sasuke wouldn't appreciate it."

"No, he wouldn't have."

Glancing down at the ground for a moment, Sakura asked, "Did you talk to him about going to see Minato–san?"

Again, Itachi sighed. After discovering that, in a fit of rage, his younger brother had completely destroyed his room, Itachi had finally sat him down and talked to him about the possibility of having intermittent explosive disorder. Sasuke had deadpanned and asked him if he was trying to be funny. Then, Itachi had gone into detail, explaining to him about their family's history and as he did, Sasuke had grown paler and paler. He didn't mention how it had been Sakura who told him about Sasuke possibly having a mental illness, for Itachi knew it would only anger Sasuke.

"He has an appointment with Minato–san next week."

"Why did it take so long to get an appointment?" Sakura gasped, looking at him with shock.

"Sasuke wanted time to think." Itachi explained patiently and hoped that she would understand. If the look that suddenly entered her features was anything to go on, it meant that she did. "I made an appointment on Friday afternoon and the soonest Minato–san could see Sasuke is next Tuesday."

Seeing the worry in Itachi's eyes, Sakura smiled. "Even if it does turn out he's I.E.D, Sasuke will still have his family and friends with him. Sometimes, it makes it easier to cope."

For a moment, there was silence as Itachi regarded her. "Does it make it easier for you?"

"A lot easier."

* * *

><p>"One second, I just have to let Ao out." Sakura told Gaara.<p>

He looked down at the dog that was currently sitting patiently by the back door, waiting for its master to let him out. "He doesn't stay in the house anymore?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, the other night I forgot to let him out before bed and he went to the bathroom in the living room, right on my mom's rug. She got mad and said that at night he can stay in his dog house. It's fair enough really. Ao has his dog food, water and shelter and it's not like we're in winter anymore, right? I mean, it's pretty warm out tonight, don't you think? Not to mention he has that whole 'heated kennel' thing."

Gaara couldn't even help but smirk as Sakura started rambling about whether or not it was too cold to keep him outside, not wanting her little friend to get cold. He still couldn't believe how quickly she and Ao had bonded, especially since she had been so reluctant about keeping the dog. It didn't even take longer than a day for her to start letting him sleep on her bed! However, now it seemed the dog slept outside.

It wasn't like Gaara was complaining. Sometimes, Ao was a little too protective of Sakura and got pretty possessive of her too. He hadn't growled or started barking at Gaara in a while (unless it was to tell Sakura that he had arrived) but there were still moments when the dog would glare at him. And not only him either. Whenever any male got too close to Sakura, it set Ao off, even when it was her own father! Thankfully, the dog seemed to realise that Gaara was Sakura's boyfriend, someone that could be trusted. Since, one time, he had had Sakura pinned and Ao believed it was a game, practically headbutting Gaara away from her so that he could lick her face. Maybe Ao had thought he was pinning Sakura down just so the dog could lick her?

"Ao will be fine, Sakura." Gaara told her with a smirk.

She nodded before kneeling down and scratching Ao's head and in response the dog's eyes closed as he sighed. "You're such a good boy!" Sakura smiled at Ao, releasing him and standing to unlock the back door. "Don't be barking all night, okay? Last night we hardly got any sleep!"

"He was barking last night?"

Sakura groaned as she nodded. "Yeah and nothing would shut him up either!" she told Gaara whilst opening the door. Immediately, the dog shot out of the kitchen and ran into the garden, sniffing here and there. "I went out like twenty times to see if something was annoying him, but nothing and nobody was out there! It was just him. Mom and dad got so annoyed with him and in the end we had to bring him into the house. Not once during the night did he leave my side."

That was definitely strange, Gaara thought as he watched Sakura close the door and lock it before turning to face him. Just as he was about to say something, however, she was grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, only pausing to switch the lights off and lock the front door.

"My parents have gone away for the entire weekend." Sakura reminded him, an impish smile playing along her lips. By this time, they were at the top of the stairs and making their way to her bedroom. "So I was thinking–"

She didn't even have time to finish her sentence as Gaara pinned her to the wall, trapping her between it and his body. Almost immediately, Sakura was kissing him, her lips moving against his whilst her hands were holding him to her tightly. She had always enjoyed kissing Gaara, but knowing what they were about to do made the kiss just that much better, especially as it started to grow more heated and _especially_ as Gaara lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist.

The new position made Sakura gasp with pleasure as she tilted her head back, revealing her neck to Gaara as he brushed aside her hair and pressed kisses against it. God she loved it when he acted dominant, when he showed her just how strong he was. It was as though he barely felt a thing whilst lifting her and even though it should have made her feel weak it instead turned her on even more.

As Gaara nipped at her sensitive spot, Sakura groaned and arched into him, her legs automatically tightening their hold around his waist as she did so. There was an aching need building within her, a need to feel more of him, to _have_ more of him touching her, kissing her, inside of her. However right now, despite that feeling, she was satisfied with what he was giving her and didn't want to rush anything. Like Sakura had told him before, she wanted their relationship to be different to her last ones; she wanted this one to be special and not all about fulfilling _that_ need.

Her hands fisted in his hair as Sakura tilted his face back towards her and crushed her lips to his. One of his hands held her ass whilst the other one pushed away from the wall before joining the other. As he made his way to her room, Gaara had to break away from their kiss for a moment as he moved, not wanting to crash into anything and accidentally hurt her. Once they were inside of her room, however, he kicked the door shut behind him and once again pressed his lips to hers.

Leaning back ever so slightly, Sakura all but ripped her top from her body, revealing her lacy black bra before once again kissing him. She was used to Gaara seeing her scars now because he was never judgemental about her past. Yes, there were a few things (a lot of things) that he didn't like, aside from the obvious, but never did he once badmouth her or degrade her.

Finally dropping down onto the bed, Gaara pulled his shirt over his head before he moved to the buttons of her shorts, making quick work of sliding them down her legs and throwing them across the room. However, just as he was about to close the distance between them, Sakura sat up, her hands going straight to his pants. Unlike him, however, she simply shoved them off the bed once they were off of his body.

There was a soft look in her eyes as Gaara slowly lowered her back onto the bed, following immediately and his hands were gentle as he pinned Sakura's hands to each side of her head and entwined his fingers with hers. He was always so gentle with her, not like back when they had first met when he was always so harsh and mean. No, she definitely liked the change and she definitely liked it when he looked at her like she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen – like he was right at that moment.

When his lips brushed against hers, Sakura closed her eyes and kissed back with the same loving tenderness as her legs around his waist tightened and her back arched ever so slightly. She knew that Gaara approved of her move because he added more pressure to the kiss and pressed himself against her, earning a gasp from the pink haired beauty beneath him.

Even though this wasn't their first time together, it felt like it was. Well, they weren't nervous like they had been the first time, but they moved with the same slowness, like they wanted to make every little second count and memorable. Gaara held her like she was delicate and in his arms, Sakura felt fragile, but she enjoyed the feeling because along with it, it brought the feeling of protection. She knew that Gaara would never do anything to hurt her.

One of his hands slipped away from hers and moved so that he could lean on his forearm, to keep most of his weight off of her as he settled more comfortably between her legs and when they parted for air, Gaara moved his lips to her neck, where he kissed her passionately.

"Gaara," Sakura gasped as her now free hand entangled itself in his messy red hair, "I love you!"

Just as she said the words, the lights from her bedroom and the hallway went out, plunging them into darkness and causing the two to freeze. The only reason they had noticed was because Ao suddenly started barking loudly, much louder and more viciously than he had the night before.

"If I was a superstitious person, I would say that _that_ is bad sign." Gaara murmured into the crook of her neck before pulling away.

As much as she wanted him to just forget about the lights and Ao's barking, Sakura knew better than to do so. Her mind was already coming up with possibilities as to what could have happened and she didn't like a single one of them. She had seen way too many horror movies. "Hang on a second," Sakura mumbled as she turned over and grabbed her phone from the table. "I've still got signal. I'll just ring Itachi and ask him if his power is out, too."

Gaara raised a brow at her as he pulled his pants back on. "Why can't you ring Sasuke? He lives there too, doesn't he?"

Sakura frowned as she threw Gaara's t–shirt over her head and pressed the phone to her ear. It just about covered her, but if she leaned over you could see her underwear and also, her scars were visible, so hopefully it was simply a power cut. "Sasuke and I aren't really talking right now." Then, as the phone connected, Sakura quickly spoke to Itachi. "Hey, Itachi, my power has just cut out. Is yours off, too?"

"_No, our power is still on._" Itachi replied. "_Would you like me to come over and see if anything is wrong?"_

She bit her lip before looking at Gaara. "One second." She then spoke to Gaara. "It's only my house, what do you think's up?"

The second the words left her lips, there was a loud bang that came from downstairs, making a scream tear from Sakura's throat before she could even stop herself. Gaara was by her side immediately, covering her mouth and pulling her towards her bathroom, away from the door.

"_Sakura_," Itachi's voice was less calm now, "_what's happening_?"

As she and Gaara made their way over to the bathroom, trying to remain as quiet as possible, Sakura lost her grip on her phone and cursed as it fell to the ground with a thud. Before she could reach it however, Gaara pulled her into the bathroom completely and locked the door. There was only one window in her bathroom and it was too small to let in any real light – especially since it was night time – so the pair was left in the dark, locked in the bathroom.

Gaara's hand was still covering her mouth, most likely trying to keep her rapid breathing from being heard and his hold tightened around her waist as they heard the bedroom door slam open and bang against the wall. By now, tears were falling from Sakura's eyes. Was somebody robbing them? Didn't they know that she and Gaara were in? Of course they did! Both of their cars were outside. That could only mean that whoever was currently in her bedroom wanted her to be in.

"Try to stay calm." Gaara breathed into her ear as they both listened intently to the footsteps in her room.

It angered him that somebody had dared to break into Sakura's house, but he was far more concerned with keeping her safe and unharmed. He didn't know who was out there and he didn't know if they were carrying a weapon or not. So, at this moment in time, he knew that it was safer to just stay hidden.

"_Haruno_," the voice in her bedroom called, making her body stiffen as it felt like her blood had run cold, "_I know you're here. Why won't you come and see me, _Sakura?"

"No…" Sakura whimpered against Gaara's hand as she leaned into him, as though trying to hide herself even though nobody could see her.

She knew that voice. It was a voice she could never forget. It was the voice belonging to the man who had dragged her into the woods. It was the voice belonging to the man who had beaten her, who had raped her. It was the voice that had scarred her for life, the voice that had been the final push that caused her to completely fall over the edge. It was part of the reason – the main part – why she had tried to kill herself so many times.

More tears fell from Sakura's eyes as her entire body shook.

"Sakura," Gaara whispered, "try to stay calm. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Turning around, Sakura buried her face into the crook of his neck. "It's him." she whispered, her voice low and shaky. "It's _him_."

At her words, Gaara saw red.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** –** Okay, so I was reading this pretty good KakaSaku fanfiction and it just got to the lemon when "Sakura's Theme" started to play and I felt like a pervert. And that Kakashi was a pervert. It's nerdy of me to have a playlist with Naruto, DBZ and other songs like those, but I listen to them when I write! And read. Kind of helps you concentrate when you live in a noisy house like mine. The brats next door are ridiculously loud, too! Always screaming death threats at each other.**

**I'm sad that this is ending soon. Chapter 70 and then 'They Never Knew' is finished!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	60. That Can't Be True!

**Chapter ****60 – ****That Can't Be True!**

"Sakura, are you sure he's the guy?" Gaara hissed into her ear, his hold tightening around her.

She nodded quickly, her breathing coming quick as Sakura tried her best to stop herself from outright sobbing and giving away their hiding place. The last thing she wanted was to have to face that monster again. Having Gaara by her side made her feel slightly better, but she didn't want him to face that man either. Yes, Gaara was a tough guy and could defend himself, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"T–That… it's… it's the same v–voice…"

Seeing that she was almost hyperventilating, Gaara quickly loosened his hold and forced her to look him in the eye, his gaze serious. There was something darker in his eyes, something that made a shiver run up her spine, but Sakura refused to focus too much on it. "I won't let anything happen to you, Sakura." he told her, his voice no louder than a murmur as he pressed his forehead to hers, never breaking eye contact. "I promise I'll protect you."

"N–No, I don't want you to get hurt because of me!" she whispered before closing her eyes, trying her best to stop her tears. Crying wasn't going to help anything. "Damn… I shouldn't have left Ao outside."

He had to agree. If the dog had been inside, he would have torn the intruder to pieces, especially if he had heard Sakura's scream. However, Gaara wanted to face this guy himself. He wanted the pleasure of beating him and seeing how _he_ liked being made to feel weak, pathetic, useless and vulnerable.

"_What's this_?" His voice sounded much closer now and because of how dark it was in the bathroom compared to the bedroom, they could see by his shadow that he was quite close to the door.

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned back to Gaara, making more of an effort to stay quiet. "M–My phone, I dropped it!"

There was the sound of somebody sighing before they knocked on the bathroom door. "_Sakura, I don't like playing hide and seek. Come out of there._"

What the hell was up with this guy? He was speaking to her like she was a disobedient pet or child! Clenching her fists angrily at the thought of being spoken to in such a way, Sakura debated on whether or not she should actually go out there and beat the hell out of him.

"_I didn't want it to have to come to this._" Once again, he sighed before suddenly, he was banging on the door.

Immediately, Gaara was on his feet and keeping Sakura behind him, his eyes narrowed in the direction of the door.

"W–Wait!" she whispered to him. "We can use the door that goes into my closet!"

He felt like slapping himself! It must have been because of the dark that he had forgotten that she had two doors in her bathroom, one leading to her bedroom whilst the other went straight into her closet. When he had questioned her about it, Sakura had simply answered that the extra door came in handy when she has friends over and didn't want them to see her walking from her bathroom to her closet in just a towel.

Keeping a tight hold of his hand, Sakura guided the way to the second door and as she did, she tried to not jump every single time the man threw himself into the door. She honestly wished him the best of luck breaking into her bathroom for it had taken both her mother and father a couple of minutes and by that time, she and Gaara would have moved to the closet.

Just like she had predicted, they made it to her closet but only mere seconds before the bathroom door slammed open, banging against the wall as it did.

Listening intently to where the man was, Gaara moved them both over to the door leading to her bedroom before opening it as silently as possible and shoving Sakura out, making sure she got out before him as they darted across her bedroom.

However, just as they reached the hallway, the man came out of the bathroom. It was too dark to see his features, but Gaara could see that he wasn't that much taller than himself and definitely wasn't as muscular.

"Ah, there you both are!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes and pushed Sakura backwards when the man started to walk towards them. It didn't seem like she was letting him leave her that easily, though, as she started pulling him with her, begging him not to fight him, crying that she didn't want him to get hurt because of her. The whole time, both Gaara and the man silently sized each other up in the darkness, trying as best as they could to see more than just the other's outline.

It occurred to them how far they had moved when Sakura suddenly stopped his movements, her breathing coming quick as she tried to pull him away from the stairs. Instead of listening to her however, Gaara once again pushed her away, telling her to stay back as the man continued to walk forward.

When he was finally six feet away from Gaara, the latter stood tall and even though it was dark and he wasn't looking at her, Sakura could practically _feel_ Gaara's glare.

"You made a mistake of coming here." Gaara muttered darkly, not even bothering to raise his voice as you could tell just by the way he said the words how angry he was.

The man seemed unbothered by Gaara's words, however, as he replied rather simply, "I wasn't going to leave what's mine in somebody else's possession now, was I?"

Now that her eyes were adjusting to the dark, Sakura could make out more than just the outlines. She could see that the man had long hair which suddenly seemed incredibly familiar to her, but that was all she could really make out. Besides her ragged breathing, she could hear Ao's barking from outside as it suddenly grew louder, like he could sense her distress.

It was obvious that his words pissed Gaara off as the redhead walked forward, his fists clenching and unclenching, a sign Sakura knew meant that he was close to losing it, that he was going to lash out at any second. She almost felt sorry for the guy, _almost_. If he continued speaking of her the way he was, like he owned her, then Gaara was going to do him some serious damage.

"Leave," Gaara warned him, "_now_."

Sakura could tell that Gaara wanted nothing more than to just attack and she was proud of him for being the bigger man and trying not to let it resort to violence. However, the thought of this man leaving and possibly coming back for her again was frightening. It literally made her feel sick to her stomach with just the thought of him returning, especially if she was on her own.

"I'd rather not," the man spoke in an airy voice, like he hadn't even a care in the world, "Sakura and I have been parted for too long and I–"

He didn't even have the time to finish his sentence as Gaara suddenly rammed into him, knocking the both of them over and down the stairs with his momentum. The sight of Gaara tumbling with the man caused Sakura to cry out as she quickly darted after them, her eyes locked only on Gaara as she did so and once again, the reminder of how useless she was came to her mind. It was telling her that he was going to and probably already was getting hurt because of her.

When they finally came to a stop, Sakura jumped down the last couple of steps and dropped to her knees besides Gaara as he pulled himself up. From what little she could see in the dark, he didn't seem too injured and she couldn't see any blood anywhere. Helping him to his feet, Sakura watched him as he watched the man.

"Sakura, get out of here." Gaara ordered, shoving her behind him as he tried to mask his grunt of pain and refrained from lifting his hand to the back of his head, which he had hit pretty hard on the stairs.

"I'm not leaving you with him!" she hissed in response, grabbing Gaara's hand and dragging him with her as she made her way to the living room, only to freeze in her place at the sight before her. Sitting on her sofa like he owned the place and with his feet on her coffee table, was Zaku and not too far from him, stood Karin. It made her sick how just their outlines told her who they were. "What the hell do you want?"

Light suddenly flooded the room, making them all squint as they were temporarily blinded and during that time, Sakura turned, pressing her back to Gaara's though didn't let go of his hand for a second. It seemed the other man had finally shook off his daze as she felt Gaara tense, as she felt his free arm lashing out to the side, almost as though he was blocking the man from simply looking at her. Sakura was grateful for that because as she got a better look at Zaku and saw that his arms _weren't _broken, saw that he could move them with absolutely no problems at all, she felt her stomach drop.

Karin stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she placed a hand on her hip. "Because of you, we had to go into hiding!"

Sakura's eyes widened as her free hand clenched into a fist. "Because of _me_?" she repeated angrily. "I didn't force you all to rape me! I didn't force you to tape it! I didn't–"

"Oh _shut up_." Karin groaned, rolling her eyes with annoyance. "You're making it out like it's the end of the world! So what if a couple of guys used you?"

Before she could even react, Sakura let go of Gaara and shot forward, slamming Karin into the ground as she tackled her, pinning her down as she straddled her waist, making her whimper and cry out in pain as she smashed her fists into her face.

"They _raped _me!" Sakura screamed and with each word, she added more force to her blows. "You recorded men and women raping me! How the hell can you be okay with that? You twisted, evil bitch!"

Suddenly, arms were locking under hers as she was dragged off of Karin, but Sakura didn't let them pull her away without a fight as her legs lashed out, just barely missing Karin's head as the girl lifted herself from the ground. She realised two things at that moment in time. The first was that as she thrashed and screamed, Sakura realised that Tsunade had been right. She _did_ fight like a terrified, cornered animal. And the second thing she realised…

There were more than three people who had broken into her home.

There were six of them, although Sakura didn't recognise the last one.

"Let go of me you bastard!"

"Why the hell didn't you stop her, Zaku?" a voice demanded and at the sound of it, Sakura froze.

Oh God no…

Looking over her shoulder, white hair was the first thing she spotted and noticing it, Sakura's thrashing increased. "Suigetsu, you fucking creep! You better let go of me before–"

He scoffed, tightening his hold. "Before what, eh? Your boyfriend can hardly do anything right now." As he spoke, he turned them to face Gaara, who was slowly backing up so that he could face them all, wanting Sakura to be in his line of vision so that he could see what was happening, so that he could try and help her somehow. "Kabuto will deal with him, so don't worry."

Kabuto…

_Yakushi Kabuto_?

Sakura felt like she was going to be sick. She really, _really_ did. "No…"

"No, what, Sakura?" The man asked as he stepped into the living room, the light shining off his glasses so that she couldn't see his eyes. "Are you disappointed?"

"You…" she whimpered, tears once again filling her eyes.

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously. He had realised the moment the lights had switched back on what Sakura had. If Kabuto was the man who had raped her in the woods, then that meant he had raped her more than once, since he had also been on the tapes that Itachi had taken from Karin's home. Oh… Gaara was going to _slaughter _the fucking bastard.

Just as he lunged for the man, however, thick arms locked under his own, very much like Suigetsu's hold on Sakura.

"Please don't cause a fuss, Gaara."

Sakura shook her head, her tears falling faster. "Not you, too, Juugo! I thought you were Sasuke's friend?"

"Oh?" Kabuto's voice was airy again as he looked up at Juugo. "Uchiha Sasuke, eh? Hm. I can't say that it surprises me, really. After all, he's Orochimaru–sama's favourite."

Her heart was in her throat as her eyes locked with Gaara's widening ones.

"_What_?" he demanded.

"You didn't know?" Zaku smirked, pulling himself to his feet and walking over to Sakura, not seeming bothered by the redhead who was glaring murderously at him. "Orochimaru–sama wishes for Sasuke to take over the Uchiha Company, which would then lead to him doing business with Orochimaru–sama. If that happened–"

Karin wiped the blood from her lip and stood up, glaring at Zaku. "Oi, Zaku! Shut up about Orochimaru–sama's plans, you idiot!"

Zaku sighed, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes before giving Suigetsu a dry look. "And you wonder why I didn't step in to stop Cherry. Karin is a pain in my ass and I was kind of hoping Cherry would go too far and, you know, _accidentally_ kill her."

And then he was falling to his knees, clutching at his crotch, his face reddening as it scrunched up with intense pain. "_My name is Haruno Sakura_." Sakura spat as she lowered her knee, but was unable to do anything other than watch Zaku slowly collect himself as he stood up with a wince. "My name is _not_ Cherry."

Kabuto smirked.

That was his girl.

"You've always hated being called that." Zaku smirked before it slipped away, his eyes narrowing.

She instinctively knew what was coming by the flash in his eyes.

Just as he threw his fist forward, however, Sakura stomped on Suigetsu's foot, making him hiss as his hold loosened, allowing her to dodge the blow that instead hit Suigetsu. It was because of the punch that the hold on her disappeared completely as the white haired teen was thrown back, collapsing onto the ground with a growl of annoyance before he shot straight back up.

"Watch where you're throwing those punches!"

"Never mind that, idiot!" Karin hissed, pointing over to Sakura, who was heading towards Juugo and Gaara. "Grab her!"

Because his arms were already in use, Juugo couldn't do anything as Sakura leaped onto his back, one of her slender arms slipping around his neck before she was locking it into place with her other hand as it grabbed the side of his head, tilting it to the side. It was a tight fit as her legs wrapped around his waist, but it seemed Gaara understood what she was doing as he arched his back as much as he could, allowing her more room and even keeping her in place as he leaned back.

"Come any closer and I'll break his neck!" she spat at them all, watching carefully as Suigetsu and Karin immediately froze in place, their eyes widening.

"I'll break his arms before you do, Sakura." Juugo told her rather calmly, though she could feel his pulse against her arm, could feel how he was suddenly unsure.

Her hold tightened and in response, Juugo's face slowly started to turn red. "Broken arms can be repaired." Sakura retorted, even though the thought of causing Gaara harm was making her feel sick to her stomach. "If I break your neck, you're dead."

It was only because of her lessons with Tsunade that she knew it was possible to break his neck in such a position. If she made a sharp twist, it could be done.

And then she heard something that made her blood run cold and, looking up, Sakura's eyes widened.

Kabuto was holding a gun.

And he was aiming it right at Gaara.

"Kill him, Sakura, and I'll make you watch as I kill Gaara–kun."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Kind of cliché ending, I know, but I wanted to have you all like "OMG NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Are any of you like that right now? No? Oh. Fail. ;-)**

**I really don't like OCs. The ones who are in like a few paragraphs in one chapter are fine, because they don't matter. They're fodder. I mean when people add their OCs to their story and have them as the main character. You know, everything revolves around them and whatnot. I don't know why, but it bugs me. I think it's because when I read a story, I want it to be in the point of view of the character it's supposed to be in. Like, say it's an ItaSaku fanfic. I would expect it to be pretty much all about them! Not the author's OC. Sometimes people spend too much attention and time on their OC and make them into a Mary Sue or whatever the hell it's called. They try to make their character the most powerful, the most desired and shit like that. And then they forget about Itachi or Sakura. Everything is about their OC.**

**Sorry for the rant. I was reading a fanfic last night and I had to stop about twenty-something chapters in because it had been getting ridiculous. Like, it would go about seven or eight chapters with it being only about the OC. No Itachi. No Sakura. It's been bugging me ever since. Shame, because other than that, it was really good, which was why I stuck with it for so long.**

**My cat is going mental. She's sat up at the window, watching the birds flying around. One even dared to sit on the window ledge, like it was teasing her that she couldn't get it. She just keeps jumping at the window, her tail swishing back and forth and her eyes are massive. It's kind of hilarious.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	61. I Don't Belong To You!

**Chapter**** 61 ****– ****I Don't Belong To You!**

"No!" Sakura gasped, her hold loosening. "Please, don't hurt him!"

Arms wrapped around her waist and before Sakura could even react, she was pulled off of Juugo's back by Suigetsu and thrown to the floor. Her heart was in her throat as she quickly turned around so that her hands were holding her up, her eyes locking on Kabuto's. He was still aiming the gun at Gaara and she ignored the look in Gaara's eyes that was telling her to forget about him, to run and save herself. She knew that Kabuto could see the desperation in her eyes and she knew that it angered him that she was so scared about losing Gaara, because his hold on the gun tightened, his eyes flashed dangerously. No matter how hard she tried, however, she couldn't push the look away.

Pulling herself to her feet, Sakura tried to put herself in front of Gaara, but a head of long and messy red hair suddenly appeared in front of her. "What are you doing?" Karin yelled at Kabuto, her eyes wide with a flurry of different emotions swirling within them. "This wasn't a part of the plan! You didn't say anything about _killing _them!"

Kabuto didn't look at her as he once again tightened his hold on the gun. "She knows who I am now, Karin, as does Gaara–kun. I cannot let them give away my identity. Not only would it expose me, but the whole company and organisation, including you." He sighed with annoyance when she stammered. "What did you think was going to happen tonight? That we would simply come by her home and ask her politely not to tell on us?" Kabuto shook his head and gave her a smile. "Karin, I'm doing this to protect you, to protect Suigetsu and Juugo. I'm important enough to Orochimaru–sama that he would make sure nothing happened to me. You three, however, are not. You're all easily replaced."

At his words, Karin turned to face Sakura, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The hatred she could see in them had Sakura taking a step back, had her eyes widening.

And then, Karin lunged.

"Bitch!" she screamed as she tackled Sakura to the ground. "You're so much fucking trouble!"

Only vaguely hearing Gaara calling out her name, yelling at her to fight back, she desperately kicked her legs out and inwardly cheered herself on when she managed to kick Karin in the stomach, effectively knocking the girl a couple of feet away from her. However, just as she turned away to pull herself back onto her feet, a hand clamped around her ankle.

Sakura grunted with the effort of dragging herself by her elbows away from Karin, who was holding onto her ankle tightly and trying to yank her back over to her. The hold was so tight that Sakura knew she would have bruises.

Her hand slapped repeatedly onto the table next to the sofa once she reached it, desperately trying to find something, _anything_, to use as a weapon against Karin and when her fingertips brushed against the bottom of a lamp, her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. The lamp! With new energy and determination, Sakura's narrowed her eyes in concentration, willing her arm to stretch just that little bit further. The arm holding up her body skidded across the floor as she attempted to continue dragging herself, but it didn't go far. Sakura was so glad that she was wearing Gaara's shirt and not one of her own long–sleeved ones. Due to there being no sleeves, her arm didn't slip on the wooden flooring as much as it would have.

And then she finally managed to wrap her hand around the middle of the lamp.

"Karin, look out!"

But Juugo's warning was too late.

Sakura quickly turned around to face Karin and with almost terrifying strength and speed, the bottom of the lamp whipped through the air between herself and Karin, making a whooshing sound before a sickening thud silenced them all. And not long after that, Karin fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Fucking slut!" Suigetsu screamed in anger at her as he moved forward, his arm raised and fist clenched.

Only for his face to suddenly collide with the wall not even a second later.

"Don't even think about touching her." a cold and hard voice spat viciously.

The second she recognised the voice as Sasuke's, Sakura's eyes widened and her head snapped up, her eyes going even wider at the sight before her. Sasuke had Suigetsu up against the wall, Naruto had Zaku restrained whilst Itachi slammed Kabuto face first into the ground, his hold on the gun loosening and once it had, Itachi kicked Kabuto's hand, causing the gun to go sliding across the floor.

"Y–You guys… You…"

Sasuke's hard eyes met hers. "Get the gun!"

Her eyes moved across the floor and narrowed dangerously when she saw the only man left unrestrained moving towards it. Sakura pushed herself forward, trying her best to move as fast as possible and get the gun first and when the man noticed, his eyes also narrowed.

Their hands slapped down onto the wooden flooring, onto the gun, one hand two seconds slower than the other.

And once Sakura grabbed the gun (she inwardly screamed her thanks to her mother for forcing her to go to all those dance classes as a child), her body arched and twisted and her leg lashed out, knocking the man on his back and forcing all the air from his lungs.

Then, her eyes snapped up to Juugo's.

"I won't let go of him, Sakura."

They narrowed dangerously as Sakura moved backwards and once she grabbed a hold of thick, red hair, she noticed how Juugo and Suigetsu both tensed. "Will you let go of him now?" she asked in a deadly voice, dragging Karin's heavy body over to her. "She's still alive, you know. Only unconscious."

"Don't–" Suigetsu began to thrash, but Sasuke silenced him before he could continue by kneeing him in the back.

"Shut up."

Sakura's eyes never left Juugo's for a second. "If you try to hurt Gaara, Juugo, I _will_ shoot her."

"You won't." Juugo spoke calmly, but she could see his worry, she could see how he was doubting his words.

She raised an eyebrow, her hold on the redhead's hair tightening. "Oh? I think I have enough reason to." Sakura told him coldly despite the hammering of her heart and the fact that holding a gun was making her feel sick. "After all those years of bullying me, after all those tapes she made of me being _raped_ by over _thirty_ different men _and_ women, after playing a video at school of not only my secrets, but also Gaara's, I think I have more than enough reason. She knew all this time what happened to me!" Her hand was shaking by now with a mixture of fear, pain and anger. "I would be doing the world a favour by getting rid of scum like her, like _all of you_!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto tensed at her words, since neither of them knew she had been raped over _thirty_ times and not only by men, but also by women.

"You bastards_ sold my body_!" Sakura screamed at them. "Y–You all _raped _me!"

Again, both Sasuke and Naruto tensed even further as their eyes widened.

"Karin helped you out!"

Sakura paused, her eyes widening as she glanced over at Suigetsu, trying to ignore the look Sasuke was giving her. He looked pained, like somebody had just punched him in the gut. "W–What?"

"How the fuck do you think you got out of that place?" Suigetsu spat, once again trying to break Sasuke's hold. "There was no way of you getting out of there alone! You were fucked up in the head so badly by that time. Don't you remember? Karin managed to sneak you out of that place, but you had to make your way back to town by yourself!"

She shook her head as she looked down at the girl laying awkwardly across her lap, her red hair being fisted tightly in one of her hands. "No…" Sakura whispered, her eyebrows knitting together. It had to be a lie! Then, her eyes snapped back to Suigetsu's. "_You _raped me!"

The white haired teen grunted with pain as Sasuke's hold tightened. "_What_?"

He ignored Sasuke and instead looked at her. "We had to make it believable! There was no chance of Zaku handing you over to us for a night, especially since we went to the same school as each other, since Juugo was Sasuke's friend! You think I_ wanted _to fuck you while you were in that state? No! I had to do it because Juugo couldn't handle it! Zaku wanted proof that we wouldn't try helping you out. Your hatred of Karin and her hatred for you wasn't exactly a secret, was it? He wanted to make sure we wouldn't kill you or sneak you out just to get rid of you!"

"I fucking knew it!" Zaku roared as he tried to break out of Naruto's hold.

The Uzumaki simply tightened it as he snarled, "Shut the fuck up!"

Once again, Sakura looked down at the girl laying unconscious in her hands. She had always thought it was strange how she suddenly got out of that place, but Sakura would have never thought that Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo had gotten her out of there. Why would they do such a thing? Weren't they afraid of what Zaku could do? "But… but why? Why would you do something like that for me? You all hate me!"

"Karin may dislike you, but the stuff you were put through was something she couldn't stand to see." Juugo told her quietly. "Every night she would return to us in a state of shock and it would take hours to calm her down. I won't lie to you, because it got a little easier for her after every night, but there was one night when she eventually broke down and asked us both for our help, asked us to get you out of there. It was after…"

"Tape number three." Sakura whispered when he trailed off, remembering how she had heard Karin's gasp of shock, how the camera had become shaky and unsteady. She saw Gaara tense at her words as he also remembered how violent not only the man who raped her had been, but also Zaku when she hadn't been up to 'entertaining' any more clients. "T–The one where… where I was…"

Juugo nodded once and for a moment, there was sympathy in his eyes. "That was around your seventh or eighth day. After that, Zaku began to watch you more closely as he also noticed your mind was becoming much more fragile, as you started drinking more heavily than ever, to the point of passing out halfway through your… sessions with clients."

She thought she was going to be sick and as her eyes locked with Gaara's, she could tell that he somewhat believed their words, too. However, before Sakura could say anything else, Kabuto spoke up. "It was me who told them how to get you out of there, by the way." His voice was as airy as ever and it made her want to _shoot him_. "When they couldn't come up with a plan, they came to me since you're my–"

Itachi silenced him by once again slamming him face first into the ground after lifting him. "Do not even dare to say that she is your _anything_."

Instead of replying to Itachi, Kabuto continued speaking like nothing had even happened. Sakura snarled. Creepy bastard. "Karin told me about what was happening to you, which is how I found out you were there. Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunity to see you once again, Sakura, but when I saw the state you was in, I demanded Zaku let you go. He refused and I could do nothing more because of Orochimaru–sama's orders."

Neither Sakura nor Gaara missed how Sasuke suddenly tensed at the name. "Sasuke," Gaara spoke and it surprised her how calm he sounded because Juugo seemed to be holding him even tighter than ever now, "is it true? Are you really working for Orochimaru?" Because if he was, Gaara wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself from attacking the Uchiha, no matter how much it hurt Sakura. His blood felt like it was on fire just thinking that there was a possibility he had betrayed her. Sasuke meant so much to her. If he, of all people, had betrayed her, it would break Sakura. It would destroy her.

Naruto spun around to face him, his features livid and his voice so loud that it shook with the strain. "_What_?"

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed a second too late.

The blond grunted as he was kicked in the back and slammed to the floor and Sakura suddenly felt an arm wrapping around her neck from behind, causing her to let go of Karin and raise her hands, the redhead's body slumping to the ground. The hand without the gun clawed at Zaku's arm whilst the other one strengthened its hold on the gun, refusing to let go. Her legs kicked out at the ground, her back arched to try and get away from him, but he was holding her too tightly.

"Now," Zaku spat, pulling both himself and Sakura to their feet, dragging her body closer to his, "Juugo, Suigetsu, explain to me why I shouldn't kill you both _and _Karin right now."

They were all surprised when Sakura suddenly smirked despite the fact she couldn't breathe. "B–Because… I won't let you."

And then she aimed the gun right at his foot and fired.

Instantly, the arm around her neck released its hold and Sakura stumbled forward, coughing and wheezing as she attempted to breathe. A second later, however, just as the others opened their mouths to warn her, a hand grabbed her hair, yanking her back by it and making her head ache. She instinctively moved backwards, wanting to get rid of the pain, but her eyes widened as she fell right into a pair of waiting arms.

They weren't Zaku's. She knew how his arms felt and these were not his.

"You need to work on your aim." Zaku told her as he calmed his racing heart and looked down at the hole in the wooden floor. "I'll admit, you did a good job of getting me to let go of you, but you still didn't get me. Not only that, but you practically walked right into Dosu's arms."

"Let go of her!" Naruto demanded. He had shot up to his feet the moment he heard the gun being fired and tried to move forward, tried to help Sakura, but he had been too late.

Zaku simply ignored Naruto as he moved around Sakura so that he could see her face. The sight of him leaning closer to her had Gaara thrashing as well as Kabuto, but Itachi held on tighter. Juugo tried to. Sasuke quickly let go of Suigetsu, shoving the boy away from him as he moved forward to help her the same time as Naruto did.

"Juugo," Suigetsu spoke rather urgently, "forget him and get Karin out of here!"

And just like that, Gaara was released and not even a second later, Zaku was pinned to the ground, fists were smashing into his face and body. The sight of an enraged Gaara had _everyone_ tensing, had all of their eyes widening. Even Sakura couldn't hide her shock. She knew that he had some serious anger issues because Temari had warned her about them, but she had never actually seen him when he lost his temper in such a way. Sakura could practically feel Gaara's anger and hatred in the air around her and the feeling was suffocating. Beneath him, Zaku all but spasmed trying to get Gaara off, doing his best to block or dodge the blows. It did not work.

The arms restraining her disappeared and when she looked up, Sakura met the pale face of Naruto. She noticed how his hands were shaking ever so slightly and, when their eyes met, she noticed how he quickly averted his eyes, hoping she wouldn't see his guilt, his pain and his pity. It made her angry that he pitied her, but what could she expect? Sakura knew that saying the things she had yelled at Juugo would mean Sasuke and Naruto would find out everything, but at the time, it hadn't mattered to her. Now, however, Sakura wished she had kept her mouth shut.

Gaara was suddenly knocked to the ground by the man who had been restraining her, but before either Zaku or Dosu could attack him, a foot slammed into Dosu's stomach. The redhead narrowed his eyes. Why was Sasuke helping him? He had betrayed Sakura! He was working with Orochimaru! And when he was done with the others, Gaara swore to himself that Sasuke was next. Even if he had just helped him, nobody was ever going to hurt Sakura and get away with it.

When two people appeared next to Sakura, she quickly turned around and backed up into Naruto, who also tensed and grabbed her arm, unsure as to whether he should protect her from the two or not. They had said that they helped Sakura, but how could they be so sure?

"Can we trust those two?" Gaara grunted as he stood up, moving closer to Sakura, though his eyes never left Dosu or Zaku for a second.

Sakura's shaking hand grabbed his tightly, pulling him closer to her. "I–I don't know." she told them truthfully. "I only know what happened during that time because of the tapes – I can't remember a thing so for all we know, they could be lying!"

Juugo picked Karin up and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her standing. She mumbled and it then became obvious to them all that she was slowly coming back to consciousness. In response, Suigetsu drifted closer to them, his eyes hard and narrowed as he glared at them all. It was obvious then that no matter what happened, they would stick together. They were loyal to nobody other than each other and Orochimaru.

Itachi looked up at his younger brother as Sasuke came over to him, knowing that since Itachi had his hands full, somebody would have to watch his back. The older Uchiha tried his best not to show his anger at Gaara's earlier words, but it must have been obvious because Sasuke shook his head at him. "I don't work for Orochimaru." Sasuke told Itachi, gaining all of their attention. "Yes, he approached me with Kabuto a couple of months ago, but I had no idea they were the ones…" He shook his head and glanced over at Sakura, noticing how her eyes were fiercely guarded as she watched him. He quickly looked away and back to his brother. "They wanted me to take control of the company, to take it from you and do business with them, but I refused."

"Because you're a fool." Kabuto grunted. "Orochimaru–sama could have made you–"

Once again, Itachi silenced him. No doubt by 'take it from you', what Sasuke really meant was 'they wanted me to kill you'. He could tell just by the look in his brother's eyes. The deal had shaken him. And it certainly explained his behaviour back in January, when he had been aloof and cold. "You made the right choice, Sasuke."

"Look we don't care if you don't trust us–"

Naruto silenced Suigetsu as he interrupted him. "We _don't _trust you! Even if you did get Sakura–chan out of that place, you still brought Zaku _here_! You still brought him to her _home_, the one place where Sakura–chan is supposed to feel safe!" He stepped forward so that he was in front of Sakura, just in case they tried anything. "Karin still recorded everything that happened and you said that it wasn't until the eighth night that she decided to get Sakura–chan out! What if that tape number three thing didn't happen? Would she still be there?"

Her hands flew up to her hair. Oh God… _No_! She refused to _ever_ go back there. Sakura's wide eyes met Gaara's as he lowered the hand that was holding his and slowly, she lowered the other hand. Once she had, Gaara turned back to face Zaku and Dosu, who were both now on their feet and glaring at them. He wouldn't ever let her go back there. "Not to mention the posters of Sakura you put up at school." he reminded them all. "And the fact that Karin _kept_ those tapes of Sakura."

"We were just following orders!" Suigetsu snapped.

"You smirked at her because they were your orders? Karin glared at her because they were your orders? Did she post that video of us in the field because they were your orders?" Gaara's fists began to tremble once again and as his anger grew, he released Sakura's hand, not wanting to accidentally hurt her. "No! She posted that fucking video because she _wanted _to! You looked at her the way you did because you _knew what you did to her!_"

In response to the new anger in Gaara, Suigetsu warily took a step back, but it was Juugo who answered. "We got her out of there, Gaara. Those were our orders."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You said that you did it because you–"

Suigetsu interrupted him and it honestly surprised Sakura because _nobody_ dared to interrupt Itachi. Well, nobody except her and sometimes Naruto and Sasuke. "We said that Karin wanted to get her out of there. Kabuto told you already. He was the one who ordered us to actually go through with it. We were following _his_ orders and _his_ plan. Everything that happened–"

"You_ raped_ me because you were_ ordered _to do it?" Sakura screamed at him as she pushed passed Naruto. "How the hell–"

"You're not exactly innocent, Sakura." Suigetsu scoffed. "You know how to handle things like that. Even if I hadn't been able to get a hard on, given the circumstances, you would have somehow made it happen."

She swallowed, _hard._ Tears threatened to fill her eyes and no matter how hard she tried to stop them, they refused to go away. "I–I'm not… I'm not a whore!" Sakura told him. "I'm not! I'm different now!"

"_Now_." he repeated with a roll of his eyes. "And even if you are, it doesn't take away your… _skills_ in that particular area. It just means you don't go around sharing them with everyone anymore."

A hand suddenly held onto hers and when Sakura looked up, she met the hard eyes of Naruto, who was glaring at Suigetsu like he wanted to tear him to shreds. "Sakura–chan has _never_ been a whore. What you did to her… that doesn't make her a whore, either!" She squeezed his hand in thanks and in return, he also squeezed hers once. "If you carry on talking about her like that, I swear I'm going to kick the shit out of you!"

And then Sakura heard something that had her blood running cold.

The sound of a gun.

It hadn't been fired, of course, but there was a clicking noise, one that told her somebody was preparing to shoot. Sakura looked down at her hands in confusion. Where was the gun? It had been there not too long ago! How–

Zaku's lackey, Dosu!

Her body spun around quickly to face them, as did everybody else, and the sight of Zaku aiming the gun at Sasuke had her shaking with fear.

"If you don't release Kabuto, Itachi, I'll shoot your little brother."

"Itachi, let go of him!" Sakura screamed, but Gaara quickly grabbed her before she could run over to them. "Please! I don't care what happens to me. Don't let him hurt Sasuke!"

"D–Don't…" A voice groaned and once they realised Karin was now awake, Juugo let go of her, noticing that she could now stand by herself. "…don't shoot… Sasuke!"

Gaara backed them both away from the rest of the group, tightening his hold whenever Sakura thrashed, and once Itachi slowly released Kabuto and also backed away with Sasuke by his side, his hold was almost painful. Sakura didn't notice, however. Now that the gun was no longer being aimed at Sasuke, she could feel fear shooting through her, especially as Kabuto pulled himself to his feet, dusting himself off like nothing was even happening. How could he act like that when there was a gun aimed right at his head?

Kabuto sighed and looked up at Zaku with a vaguely annoyed look. "You can't shoot me." he told him and it seemed his words were very effective as Zaku suddenly stiffened and paled. "I'm Orochimaru–sama's righthand man. He will torture you for days before painfully and slowly killing you, if you kill me."

It was true, Itachi realised as he silently warned Naruto with his eyes to move away from Juugo, Suigetsu and Karin. They were not to be trusted. Anybody who willingly worked for Orochimaru was not to be trusted. Itachi's fists clenched. He needed to help Sakura, but how could he do that when she was on the other side of the room? At least she had Gaara there. He would keep her safe no matter what the cost.

"Bastard." Zaku growled. "It was your fault that my Cherry–"

"Her name is _not_ Cherry!" Kabuto yelled and Sakura moved impossibly closer to Gaara in response to his anger. "Her name is Sakura and she is not yours. She belongs to me!"

Naruto looked between the two men, his eyes narrowed with confusion. "What the…"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Whenever Sakura is brought up, they always argue over her. Zaku thinks she's his woman while Kabuto thinks she belongs to him, since he had her first." He sighed and shook his head. "Oi, Kabuto," he chuckled with a grin, "if you think Sakura's yours because you had her first, then you're wrong!" Kabuto slowly turned his head to face Suigetsu and Sakura tensed in Gaara's arms, knowing exactly what Suigetsu was about to say. "The first person who had her was this guy," he pointed at Naruto with his thumb, "so if you really think about it, she belongs to him!"

"Fuck you!" Naruto spat, his fists clenching tightly. "Sakura–chan doesn't belong to anyone!"

She felt like she was going crazy! What the hell was going on? Slowly, Gaara released her, though didn't move far as he kept her by his side. Was it wrong of her to want Gaara to tell them all that she belonged to him? Not like she was his possession, but in a way that told them they were together. She belonged to him like he belonged to her.

"Give me the gun, Zaku."

Ice cold shivers ran up Sakura's spine. He was angry. No, Kabuto was livid. It seemed that Zaku also noticed as he hesitated in handing it over, but he knew not to disobey him. One way or another, the gun would find its way back into Kabuto's hands and once it had, if Zaku _had_ disobeyed, he would be shot in an instant. Unlike Kabuto, Orochimaru could simply replace him and Zaku knew that. So, he handed it over and once he had, he and Dosu took a couple of steps back, putting themselves closer to Gaara and Sakura, who in response moved further away until Sakura's back connected with the wall. To stop him from also walking into the wall, she quickly and gently put her hand on Gaara's back, knowing that it had to be sore since it was already covered in vicious looking bruises.

"Okay." Kabuto smiled, looking all of them over and when his eyes locked with Karin's, she tensed and tried her best not to sway due to the dizziness. When his eyes swept away from hers, she released a silent sigh of relief and relaxed ever so slightly. A second later, Sakura tensed as his eyes connected with hers. The look in them was hard and there was a mixture of different emotions going from anger, to insanity and then to pained sadness and acceptance. "Sakura, why don't you tell them all that you belong to me?"

Despite her fear, she shook her head and when she spoke, her voice was thick and strained, coming out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper. "I don't belong to you."

He raised his gun, aiming it straight at her and it took everything in Sakura not to start shaking. "Tell them that you belong to _me_."

Her eyes met his, narrowed and defiant.

"I belong to Gaara."

And then he shot her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I love online shopping, but I think I may have gone overboard. Oh well! It's my birthday on Sunday so I think I should be able to get away with it ;-) Finally, I'm going to be eighteen!**

**There's not really much else to say, I don't think. The story will be finished in a few chapters... that kind of sucks. Chapter seventy and then it's all over!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	62. Fierce Protector

**Chapter ****62 – ****Fierce Protector**

A loud, unmistakable sound of a gun being fired caused many to jump into action or react.

The first was Sakura as she slammed into the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. The second was Karin as she jumped about a foot into the air. The third was Sasuke as he turned such a pale shade he looked as though he was about to faint. The fourth was Naruto as he cried out Sakura's name, making an attempt to run to her. The fifth was Itachi as he immediately rammed his shoulder into Kabuto's side, trying to knock his aim off by at least a few inches or centimetres since he had been aiming straight for her heart.

However, one movement from a certain red haired teenager shocked and terrified them all.

At the sight of the gun being aimed at Sakura, Gaara panicked and a second before the trigger had been pulled, he sprang forward, his back to Kabuto and the force of the bullet slamming into him causing Gaara to crash forward into Sakura, making her smash painfully into the wall before they both fell to the ground.

For a moment, all Sakura could do was stare at the boy in her arms with wide eyes before she was screaming his name, crying that he needed to stay with her, that she needed him to stay awake.

With shaking hands, Sakura lifted Gaara into a seated position and after she had taken a deep breath, she moved around him to look at his shoulder. The sight of the wound made her want to throw up. Or scream. Or cry. She hadn't really decided yet as her thoughts were all scrambled. Sakura couldn't even focus on the others staring at them, frozen in shock. All she could see was Gaara and the shot wound on his shoulder that was pouring blood. All she could hear was Kabuto laughing.

"It's not that bad." she whispered, though couldn't keep the shake out of her voice. "It's not that bad!"

Gaara closed his eyes as he tried to breathe through the pain. He knew Sakura was lying. However, it wasn't him she was lying to. She was lying to herself.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caused Sakura's head to snap up, her eyes wild with anger and pain – once again reminding everyone of a terrified, cornered animal. When she saw Karin taking an uneasy step forward, something in her snapped.

"Stay the fuck away from us!" Sakura screamed hysterically at Karin as she tried to move forward to help, her hands lifting uselessly as though she was about to grab Gaara. The sight only angered Sakura further. "This is _your_ fault!"

"S–Sakura." Gaara grunted as he tried to pull himself up and lift a hand to his shoulder. "I'm fine."

She could tell it was a lie by the look in his eyes and before he could stand, Sakura held him against her and slowly lowered him down, making sure to keep his shoulder above the level of his heart. It was basic first–aid knowledge to try and slow the bleeding if possible. "You're not fine! You've been shot for fuck sake!"

Kabuto was saying something, Naruto was yelling at him, Itachi was glaring and Sasuke was staring numbly at Sakura and Gaara. Nobody knew what to do – not even those who had been brought by Kabuto.

"So what are you going to do now?" Zaku laughed and there was a tinge of hysteria, of madness, to it. "Are you going to shoot them all? Fuck, Kabuto! You can't kill everyone, especially not Uchiha Itachi! You'll have the whole of fucking Konoha looking for you."

"I will do what I have to." Kabuto replied calmly with a shrug and aimed his gun right at Sakura, but she wasn't concerned by it. "If Sakura hadn't acted so stubbornly, then Gaara–"

"You're dead." Sakura spat, practically shaking. "I swear, the moment I get the chance to kill you, I'll make sure it's fucking slow and painful." Then, she turned back to Gaara. "We need something to use to apply pressure."

Her hands paused for a moment and slowly, Sakura looked down at the shirt she was wearing. It wasn't all that dirty, so would it be okay to use for his wound? She didn't care about revealing her body to these people because apparently, everyone in the room had seen her naked before. God it made her feel sick!

Just as her hands moved down to the hem of her – Gaara's – shirt, a pale hand grabbed them and when she looked up, she was surprised by the glare Gaara was giving her. He hadn't looked so angry with her in a long time. "Don't even think about it."

"Gaara, I need to try and stop the–"

"No!"

"Stop being so stubborn!" she yelled, uncaring about those behind her. "I don't give a fuck if they see my body! I need to stop the bleeding otherwise you could _die_!"

Gaara shook his head and tightened his hold. "No."

Dropping her head to his unwounded shoulder, she released a shaky breath. "Please, Gaara. Let me help you! I can't…" Sakura's voice was nothing more than a whisper as she looked up at him. "I can't lose you."

He opened his mouth, about to tell her that she shouldn't be worried because she wasn't going to lose him, when something caught his eye and made them widen. Gaara tried to stop her from looking, tried to grab her face and keep her eyes locked with his, but he was too slow and as Sakura followed his line of sight, as her eyes locked onto what his had, she paled.

Zaku and Dosu were still stood close by, but they were focused on Kabuto. Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo looked as though they were about to flee at any second, though at the same time, they were watching Kabuto closely, waiting for their next orders. Naruto and Itachi were glaring at Kabuto in such a way that it made shiver after uncontrollable shiver run up Sakura's spine and Kabuto was…

Kabuto was aiming a gun straight at Sasuke when the younger Uchiha attempted to get to her and Gaara, to try and help.

"Sakura," Kabuto called out to her, though didn't turn around and instead kept his eyes on Sasuke, "I will ask you one last time and I think it is more than obvious that I will harm those you love without a second thought if you give me the wrong answer again. _Who do you belong to_?"

Raising a shaking finger to her lips, Sakura signalled for Gaara to stay quiet and despite seeing the deadly, determined look in her eyes, the one that was warning him to grab hold of her and not let her go, he knew not to stop her, especially not when her friends were being held at gun point.

Slowly and silently, Sakura stood up, making sure not to make a single noise as her eyes stayed glued to Kabuto's back. Nobody noticed her except Itachi and whilst he wanted nothing more than to yell at her to get down and stay away, he couldn't stand the thought of losing his little brother and at the moment, Kabuto was aiming his gun straight at Sasuke with a sick grin on his face, just daring Itachi to try and save him. If she managed to stay silent, there was a chance she could save Sasuke and the rest of them.

Once she was a good enough distance away from him, Sakura charged at Kabuto, quickly jumping onto his back and locking her legs around his waist whilst clawing at his eyes with her nails. It repulsed her to be touching him and it made her skin crawl, but she had to save them. She had to protect her friends. She had to get him back for not only threatening them and for raping and beating her, but also for shooting Gaara.

Kabuto let out a pained yell as her nails cut into his face, drawing blood and during the struggle, he tried to reach behind him to grab Sakura, but she wouldn't budge an inch. Seeing it was no use and he was about to lose control of the situation, he pointed the gun at the three men once again, despite the difficulty focusing. Then, with a vicious growl, he crashed into the wall behind him, causing Sakura to let out a shocked cry as the blow winded her.

When he felt her hold on him loosen, Kabuto once again slammed her into the wall.

"Stop it!" Naruto yelled, about to run forward.

As Sakura finally fell to the ground with a gasp, Kabuto raised his gun towards them again. "Come any closer and I'll shoot her."

Everyone fell silent.

Aiming the gun right at Sakura's temple, Kabuto looked down at her with a smirk whilst his free hand lifted and wiped his eyes. "Well, well, Sakura. It seems somebody has gotten much stronger since the last time we met."

"F–Fuck… you…" she spat, trying to ignore the pain flaring in her back and the fact she could barely even breathe.

"Oh? But you already have. Many times, in fact."

Even Karin couldn't help but shudder at his words, remembering all the times she had been asked to record those certain sessions.

"Not willingly!" Gaara growled darkly as he pulled himself to his feet, making sure to keep pressure on his shoulder. He felt lightheaded for a moment, but forced himself to focus on Kabuto.

Kabuto shrugged. "I hardly think that matters."

Fists clenching tightly, Naruto took a step forward. "You're a sick bastard!"

"Ah, ah, _ah_, Naruto–kun." Kabuto smirked and moved his gun even closer to Sakura's head, making her cringe and pull back as much as she possibly could. "What did I say? I said come any closer and I'll shoot her. Were you not listening? Do you want your precious Sakura–chan to die?"

Hearing his words, Sasuke quickly grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt and dragged him back. "Idiot, he's going to shoot her if you try anything!"

"Why can't you just leave her alone?" Naruto all but roared as he ignored Sasuke. His eyes stuck to Kabuto's, glaring with a dark rage.

Sakura winced as the gun moved even closer before she threw herself completely to the ground and tried to roll away, only to have a foot slam down against her back, making her grit her teeth and squeeze her eyes shut to hold back a scream. The next thing she felt was a hand in her hair, lifting her from the ground and making her head ache with pain as her hair was yanked. Trying to relieve herself of some of the pain, Sakura stood on shaking legs, but once again winced as the hold on her hair only tightened.

"That was a rather foolish move, Sakura." Kabuto reprimanded her, ignoring the fact he had four men all glaring murderously at him – five if he included Zaku. "It would have been so easy to shoot you right now, especially since you were laying flat on the ground with your back to me."

Her eyes squeezed closed as she tried to ignore how close his face was to hers, as she tried not to gag at the fact she could feel his breath on her face. Being so close to the man who had raped her not only once, but several times, was making her want to throw up and it was taking everything in her not to tremble with fear. She could sense Gaara's eyes on her, but she didn't want him to get involved. He was already hurt because of her. It was because of her uselessness that he had gotten shot!

Before she even knew what she was doing, Sakura's fists were pounding into Kabuto. She had no idea how the hell she had ignored the agony of chunks of her hair being ripped out and she also had no idea how she managed to knock him to the ground. All she knew was that right now, she had the upper hand and there was not a chance in hell she was letting it go.

Already her fists were aching and throbbing with the pain, but Sakura ignored it as she continued to punch him, as she clawed at his face, as she ragged _his_ hair to see _how the __fuck_ he liked it. She could vaguely feel his fingernails digging and tearing into her skin, trying to get her off of him, but the adrenaline she could feel was too strong and made her feel superior, it took away any pain she may have felt. It was amazing to finally be able to fight back.

"Get his gun!" Gaara growled as he moved forward to help Sakura, only to be knocked to the ground by Zaku.

"You're not going anywhere near my Cherry."

Just like with Gaara, the others got involved the moment they saw Kabuto go down, not allowing them to help Sakura. Karin stood beside Suigetsu as she glared at Naruto.

"You're no Uzumaki." Naruto spat at her, but no matter how badly he wanted to get to Sakura, he didn't want to hit a girl.

So instead, he slammed his shoulder into Suigetsu's chest, causing the other boy to crash into the glass coffee table with a grunt. Suigetsu let out a startled yell as the glass shattered beneath him and he crashed right through it, but as quickly as he possibly could, he got back on his feet and blocked Naruto from Sakura and Kabuto.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the boy before him. The guy was a beast, completely towering over Sasuke and had a rather strong build. He was supposed to have been his friend. "You'd better let me passed, Juugo."

Juugo shook his head. "I cannot allow that, Sasuke."

"You bitch!"

The startled cry that suddenly came from Sakura had them all pausing to see what had happened and they were just in time to see Kabuto manage to knock Sakura off of him by striking her in the face with his gun. He was quick to follow her though, pinning her to the ground, which caused Sakura to start screaming and thrashing desperately as dark memories flooded her mind.

"Get off of her!" Naruto moved to charge forward, but was once again stopped by Karin and Suigetsu.

Itachi saw red at the sight of Kabuto immobilizing Sakura, but the moment he heard her screams, it was like something within him snapped and acting on the sudden flood of murderous anger, he lashed out. The man who had been trying to hold him back, a man Itachi didn't even know the name of (though he was certain it was Dosu), was no match for the Uchiha once he had gotten angry. With a couple of blows to the chest and face, the man was down and out.

"I wouldn't step any closer if I were you, Itachi–san." Kabuto told him in an airy voice. There was a small sigh that came from the silvery–grey haired man as he stopped Sakura's movements and brushed the hair away from her face in an almost tender touch, the sight making their blood boil. "It's such a shame that you had to give yourself to others, Sakura. I thought what we had had been something special, don't you agree?"

Her face changed to one of disbelief before she was struggling to get him off her again, screaming at him, "You're fucking insane!"

Kabuto smirked as he stroked her cheek, ignoring the others as they yelled at him to get off her. "Perhaps so, but that is what makes us so perfect together. We're both insane!"

She shook her head fiercely. "I'm nothing like you!"

Just as Sakura got an arm free and was about to punch him once again, Kabuto quickly caught her wrist and with one swift movement, pinned both hands above her head, his eyes flashing as her back arched. "Don't you remember all of the times we spent together? I believe we were once in a position just like this. Our first time together, actually. Remember our first time in the woods?"

"Stop it!" she screamed desperately, once again trying to throw him off of her.

Gaara pulled himself to his feet again, but couldn't help grunting in pain as the lightheaded feeling returned much stronger, causing him to take a few unsteady steps backwards. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Naruto's eyes widened before he was shooting forward and catching Gaara the moment the redhead stumbled. He ignored Zaku, Suigetsu and Karin as they all tried to catch him, knowing that if anything was to happen to Gaara, it would kill Sakura and she would blame herself. If he couldn't help her right now, the least he could do was help Gaara.

Trying to smile, he steadied Gaara. "Hey, come on, man! It's not that bad, right? Just a little dizziness! It's nothing to worry about and nothing you can't handle."

Grateful for his words of encouragement, Gaara nodded once, pulling in a ragged breath as he tried to stand by himself. The lightheaded feeling was almost overwhelming, but he had to stay standing, he had to find a way to help Sakura.

Despite his words, Naruto couldn't help looking at Gaara's wound and wincing. It looked awful and there was blood everywhere. He didn't know much, but even Naruto could tell that if they didn't stop the bleeding soon, he was going to pass out or worse, die from blood loss. No. Naruto shook his head as he leaned Gaara up against the wall on his unwounded side. He refused to let a friend die!

"I'll be right back." Naruto told Gaara before darting through the door behind him and going to the dryer. Mebuki was going to murder him for ruining her towels, but surely she'd understand that he did it to save her daughter's boyfriend? There was the sound of something scratching and growling at the back door, of something trying to break in, but Naruto barely even heard it as he turned back to go to Gaara.

The moment he entered the living room, however, a hand struck out, momentarily stunning Naruto as he was sent flying to the ground, landing on his back with a grunt. Trying to breathe despite the air being forced from his lungs, Naruto locked eyes with Gaara, the latter looking even paler than usual by the minute. Then, his eyes moved to Sakura, who seemed to be trying her hardest not to cry.

With a new determination, Naruto smashed his foot into Suigetsu's stomach just as he approached the blond and once he was on his feet again, Naruto handed the towel to Gaara, who nodded his thanks before pressing it to his shoulder with a wince.

"We haven't been together in ages and this is the way you treat me?" Kabuto demanded, back handing Sakura. She seemed dazed for a moment as he split her lip before thrashing once again. "Looks like I'll have to punish you, Sakura. _Just like old times, eh_?"

His words sent shivers up their spines.

But instead of freaking out, Sakura suddenly stilled, an idea coming to mind, and looked up at Kabuto with a defiant smirk.

All guys were sensitive about a certain something.

"You want to show them how small your dick is? You're only going to prove that you have the smallest dick in the room!" Sakura spat at Kabuto as he roughly parted her legs, ignoring her. "Fine, do it! I've had bigger." Her eyes slid to Gaara before looking back at Kabuto defiantly. "You're only going to embarrass yourself. You could never make me org–"

He slapped her again, effectively shutting her up. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

Gaara's eyes widened at the sight and despite her strong front, he could see the fear in Sakura's eyes. He could see the slight trembling of her body. Her plan wasn't working. Kabuto was too smart to fall for her juvenile trick.

Before any of them could react, however, the back door smashed open and the sound of feral growls caused them all to freeze in their places as a large rottweiler tore into the room, his claws digging into the wood when he skidded to a stop. It seemed the sight of his owner being pinned by a male who wasn't Gaara angered the dog as his growls increased, causing both Karin and Suigetsu to take a step back, their eyes widening.

"I thought you took care of that thing!" Karin hissed at Suigetsu.

He shook his head. "I wasn't going anywhere near that beast! Look at the fucking size of it!"

They could all understand why he feared Ao, especially with the way he was looking at Kabuto.

"Ao!" Sakura cried in happiness as she quickly grabbed Kabuto's arms in his moment of shock, holding him in place so that he couldn't use his gun as the man paled. "Get him!"

That was all that Ao needed to know as he immediately darted forward, his teeth bared as he erupted with his growls. It was like he had become a crazed animal that couldn't be controlled as spit flew from his mouth, as he slammed his feet into the ground whilst running forward, as his terrifying growls filled the room.

Kabuto struggled against Sakura's hold, but she refused to let him go and instead held on tighter. Her hold on his wrist caused his grip on the gun in his hand to loosen and not even a second passed before it fell to the ground, just barely missing landing on her head. Now even more defenceless than before, Kabuto's struggles became more panicked and finally, he broke away and shot to his feet.

Ao's movements slowed as he stalked forward, watching Kabuto as though the man was his prey. Nobody else dared to move in case they caught his attention except for Gaara as he stumbled forward, grabbing a hold of Sakura whilst she grabbed the gun so that Kabuto couldn't get it once again.

Suddenly, Kabuto made the mistake of trying to run.

Not even a second passed before Ao's teeth were sinking into his leg, causing Kabuto to crash to the ground with a thud and screaming with agony as the dog shook its head viciously, his grip becoming even stronger.

"Get him off of me!" he yelled out in pain, but nobody moved to help him. Not even his own lackeys.

However, the second Ao let go and went to sink his teeth into Kabuto's throat, Sakura's voice stopped him. "Ao, that's enough." They all looked at her questioningly, but she shook her head. "That bastard doesn't deserve the easy way out. I want him to rot in prison, where the other prisoners will know what he's done. It'll be hell for him, for a rapist." As Kabuto's three helpers went to move away (whilst Zaku stood there, seeming too stunned to do anything), Sakura raised the gun at them, ignoring how wrong it felt to be holding such a thing. "And where do you think you're all going?"

"You'd actually shoot us?" Karin asked, seeming not to believe her.

Her hold on the gun tightened and her eyes narrowed. "Don't push me. I already helped you once so you can think of that as paying you back for helping me out of that place. But don't think that means I've forgiven you for everything you have done to me."

"Sakura," Itachi's voice was low and serious as he spoke, "you don't want to do something like this."

Naruto quickly nodded in agreement. "Gaara needs to be taken to hospital, Sakura–chan and I know he'll want you to be there for him."

Slowly, she nodded once but instead of dropping the gun, her eyes drifted to Sasuke's. It was as though he could read her mind as he moved towards her, holding out his hand and as soon as she placed the gun into his hand, she turned around to face Gaara, taking a hold of the once white tea towel and pressing it down onto his wound, wincing when he flinched with pain.

"I–I'm sorry!" she whispered, grabbing his now free hand that was covered in his own blood. "You're going to be okay, now. We're going to get you to the hospital and they're going to help you."

Gaara leaned forward, his forehead pressing against her shoulder and then suddenly, he collapsed in her arms.

She screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – I'm ill. Ew. And when I'm ill, I either write, edit, or post! It takes my mind off of everything else.**

**Good news is that my stomach's finally calmed down. I suppose I should thank my friend for that. Think I'll make her a cup of tea or something. Maybe. Probably not. I think she's just grateful I didn't throw up everywhere and stuck to the bathroom.**

**Anyways. I'm sure you don't want to hear about me throwing up. Kind of disgusting ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	63. You Promised!

**Chapter**** 63 ****– ****You Promised!**

She fell to the ground with him once again, holding him tightly and not caring that she was being covered in his blood. "Ring an ambulance!" Naruto ran to the nearest phone to do as she ordered without a second of hesitation. "Ao, come here." Once he had, she gave him a serious look. "I want you to help Itachi and Sasuke, okay? Don't let any of these bad people escape."

And not even a second later, Ao was sitting with his back to Sakura and Gaara, glaring and growling viciously at Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo.

The sight of his younger brother holding a gun made Itachi incredibly uneasy, but instead of saying anything, he kept his eyes locked on Zaku's. The man was pale as he realised that it was over, or was it because of the wound on Kabuto's leg? It probably was, since Zaku kept shooting glances over at Ao. Still, Itachi couldn't help but look over at his younger brother, who was aiming the gun at Kabuto, with worry. It made sense why Sakura had chosen Sasuke to use the gun and despite how sick it made Itachi feel, he could understand.

Sasuke wouldn't hesitate.

In her arms, Gaara slipped in and out of consciousness, making it obvious he was trying to stay awake. Sakura smiled down at him. "Stay awake, Gaara. The ambulance will be here soon, I promise." His eyes caught hers and he gave her a small smile, nodding once. Adjusting her hold and sliding one thigh behind his back to keep him elevated, Sakura also cupped his face gently, turning Gaara's head to the side so that he was looking at her. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion and it terrified her how pale he was getting. Capturing his lips in a chaste kiss, Sakura gave a shaky smile. "Stay awake." she told him again. "You have to stay awake for me, Gaara. _Please_! I love you."

She didn't notice the pained look that flitted across Sasuke's face as he heard her words.

But Kabuto did.

"Seems…" He breathed in deeply, trying to push away the intense pain he was feeling. "Seems like I'm not the only one… who cares for Sakura."

Sasuke's eyes twitched and his nostrils flared. All he could see was the smirking face of Kabuto. All he could hear was his voice taunting him. The gun felt incredibly heavy in his hands at that moment, but at the same time, it had never felt so right to be holding it. The bastard before him was not human. He had hurt Sakura. He had _tortured _her and made her life a living hell! Sasuke's hold tightened as his eyes narrowed dangerously, a murderous look settling on his features.

"Shut up."

They all – except for Sakura, who was still holding Gaara tightly to her – looked up at Sasuke warily. All of them were aware of his anger problems, though not all of them knew of how dangerous Sasuke could be when angered.

After his breakup with Sakura, once he had calmed down, Sasuke had opened up to Itachi. He had told him about how angry he felt all of the time and how that anger scared him. It made him say things or do things he later on regretted. It was then that Itachi explained to him that Sasuke may have a mental illness. The sight of his brother's tears had almost broken Itachi. Sasuke had never looked so scared and helpless before!

"Or what?" Zaku spat and very obviously avoided eye contact with Itachi as the older Uchiha's head snapped in his direction, sending a fierce glare at him. It didn't matter to him that Sasuke was the one holding the gun. Even without a weapon, Uchiha Itachi was capable of intimidating a man with just his eyes. "You may be an Uchiha, but you won't get away with killing someone."

Sakura didn't even flinch at the sound of a gun being fired.

Sasuke's hands were beginning to tremble due to his anger and as he watched Zaku howl in pain as he collapsed onto the ground, a deadly smirk played along his lips. "Self–defence." Sasuke muttered darkly, not even caring that the others were looking at him as though he had just lost it. "You threatened to snap Sakura's neck whilst her back was turned. I'm sure Shisui will understand."

He couldn't ask that of their cousin! Itachi's eyes widened a fraction at the look in Sasuke's eyes. If anybody ever found out that Shisui had covered for him, the both of them could lose everything! The truth always came out in the end. _Always_.

Ao stood up straight, barking in such a way that had his entire body jerking with each bark. His hackles were raised, his upper body lowered slightly and it was at that moment that Naruto came darting back into the room.

"What happened? I heard–" Naruto's voice cut off immediately at the sight before him and his eyes widened. "Sasuke… You…"

Sasuke didn't bother to even glance at Naruto. "He's not dead. I made sure not to hit any vital organs."

"B–Bastard…" Sasuke tilted his head ever so slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow at Zaku as the man tried to stand up. "You won't… You won't get away with this!"

"And who is going to believe a rapist over somebody like me?" Sasuke retorted as he knelt down in front of Zaku, forcing him to meet his eyes. It was at that moment that Zaku realised Sasuke was insane. His dark eyes were wild with anger, hatred and a look that made him want to crawl under a rock. Madness. Sasuke was lost to madness. And then suddenly, Sasuke was standing once again, his hand lashing through the air so that the gun was aimed at Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo. Once again, they had tried to escape. "Where do you think you're going?"

It was Juugo who spoke as he placed himself in front of Suigetsu and when he did, Suigetsu quickly grabbed Karin and shoved her behind him. "Sasuke, don't do this."

Once again, his hold tightened on the gun and his entire body was tensed as though preparing to pounce. "_Don't do this_?" Sasuke repeated with a snarl. "Did any of you listen to Sakura when she begged you to stop?" He whirled around, aiming the gun right into Kabuto's face, but the man stared back uncaringly. "What about you?"

"You want to hear about that night?" Kabuto asked through ragged breaths, still clutching at his leg to try and stop the bleeding. "You want–"

"Stop it!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "I don't want to–"

"She screamed for you." The silver haired man smirked, but it soon vanished into a grimace of pain as Sasuke roughly grabbed his head and forced it back so that he would meet his eyes. He didn't need to say a word as his eyes said it all. "The entire time," Kabuto told him coldly, "Sakura screamed your name, Sasuke–kun, begging for you to come and save her."

And as Sasuke's knee connected with Kabuto's face, as he snarled and spat vicious words, nobody moved to try and stop him. Not even Itachi wanted to get in the way, though not because he was afraid. Kabuto deserved everything that was coming to him.

It was Naruto who eventually sprang into action as he dragged Sasuke away from a bloody and unconscious Kabuto and once he had, his fist whipped through the air, knocking Sasuke to the ground where he clutched his now broken nose that was gushing blood.

"You think she needs this shit right now?" Naruto practically roared as he ripped the gun from Sasuke's hand and gave it to Itachi. He didn't want that vile thing in his hands. Grabbing his collar, Naruto yanked Sasuke back up onto his feet, his free hand lashing out and gesturing to Sakura, who was sobbing into Gaara's chest, rocking the pair of them back and forth as she hummed through her sobs. "Look at her! You think Sakura–chan needs us to be killing each other?" He shook Sasuke firmly. "She needs us to help Gaara!"

His eyes were glued on the couple before him. Sakura was trembling and her shirt, legs, hands and arms were covered in blood. Also, because of there being no music, she was humming to herself, humming to Gaara. It was a failed attempt at trying to keep calm. Gaara… he was such a deathly shade of pale by now and Sasuke knew by the way he suddenly went limp in Sakura's hold, causing her to scream his name, that he probably wasn't going to make it.

It was that thought that had him shoving Naruto away from him, had him moving forward to help Sakura, but Ao stood in his way, growling warningly.

"I'm only helping." Sasuke muttered as he stalked passed the dog, who watched his every move carefully, ready to pounce the moment he sensed a threat.

"Y–You're still breathing!" Sakura whispered to Gaara, her holding tightening as she pressed her forehead to his. "Just… Just keep breathing for me!"

Not even glancing at her face, Sasuke gently pushed Sakura away from Gaara, but just as he went to grab the redhead, Sakura lashed out.

"_No_! You can't take him from me!"

Naruto was there in an instant as he wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to ignore the fact Ao was baring his fangs and practically erupting with growls and barks. He also tried to ignore the pain in his chest as Sakura thrashed in his hold, as she screamed for Gaara, as she screamed at Sasuke to get away from him. The blond was willing to bet anything that she didn't even know it was Sasuke.

Sasuke was silent and his face was blank as he lifted Gaara into a sitting position. It seemed during her panic and fright, Sakura had lowered him to the ground which wouldn't have done any good. Using one arm to lean him forward, Sasuke glanced at the wound, his eyes narrowing. Nothing vital had been hit, but there was a chance Gaara could still die from blood loss. Luckily, since Kabuto had been aiming for Sakura's heart and Gaara had been facing her when he had been shot, due to Itachi knocking off his aim, the bullet had pierced his right shoulder, though considering the fact that there was no exit wound, the bullet seemed to still be in there.

It didn't make sense. Why was he losing so much blood? Why was he unconscious? Gaara should have been able to stay awake! He shouldn't be losing so much blood.

Not paying attention to Sakura's screaming, he glared over at the others, most of them watching him with surprise. "What else happened?"

"He…" Karin stammered, her eyes wide with shock. "He fell down the stairs with Kabuto."

"A head injury." Itachi offered without looking at Sasuke, his eyes locked on Zaku's. It seemed the other three were too stunned to do anything more. That or the fact Ao had calmed down once realising Sasuke was helping Gaara and had gone back to snarling at them. "Most likely a concussion."

Sakura shook her head as Naruto turned her around to face him. "H–He's okay!" she told him, her eyes filled with tears and the desperation he could see in them was killing Naruto. "Gaara's fine! He's just… He's just…"

He couldn't help but pull her into a tight embrace. "Yeah. He's fine. Sasuke's looking after him for you, Sakura–chan, and we all know how stubborn he is, right?"

Sasuke ignored the comment as he turned back to Gaara. For Sakura. He wasn't doing this for Gaara, he was doing this for Sakura. As much as it pained him to admit it, Sasuke knew that she needed Gaara more than she needed him. If this was the only way he could make her happy, then he would just have to do it.

Using the towel that had been given to Gaara, Sasuke narrowed his eyes once more and covered the wound with it, using the heel of his hand to try and add as much pressure as possible. No, he wasn't being as gentle as he probably should have been, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was stopping the bleeding or at least slowing it.

It felt like forever had passed until the sound of sirens approached them, growing louder by the second. Nobody failed to notice how Karin tensed and whimpered, her eyes widening as she took a step closer to Suigetsu. The others' fear was just as obvious and as Naruto held Sakura in his arms, trying to keep her calm, he couldn't help but inwardly scoff. Did they actually believe they would get away with something like this? Hell no! Naruto would make damn sure that they rotted in prison. That was, of course, if they weren't all brutally and torturously murdered whilst in there for the crimes they had committed.

"Stay where you are."

Her eyes were heavy as Sakura lifted her head from Naruto's chest and glanced over at Itachi. Only those who truly knew him could see how much he hated holding a gun. After all, Uchiha Itachi had a pacifistic nature unless his family was in danger. If anybody even dared to threaten those he cared for… Well, it was just safe to say that they would regret it.

Zaku's eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and pain as they darted around him. His hand was clutching his side uselessly as he tried to either stop the bleeding or push away his pain. He looked down at Dosu, who was laying in the same position he had fallen in when Itachi knocked him unconscious. His eyes swept over to Kabuto. The man was laying in a pool of his own blood and his face was barely even recognisable. Next, his eyes went to the three who were huddled close together, the only female of their group unknowingly seeking comfort from the two males.

And then, his eyes locked with Sakura's.

She stared at him with exhaustion as he looked back with the same anxiety as earlier. "It's not a nice feeling, is it?" Nobody replied to Sakura as she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at Zaku and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sasuke raise his head a fraction so that he could see her. "The fear you can feel. The fear of not knowing what will come next. The fear that it's all over and you have nothing left to live for." Around her, Naruto's hold tightened. "It seems you can finally understand just a small fraction of how I _always_ feel. Only, that fear, it's nothing compared to the almost paralyzing feeling of helplessness.

"I was constantly looking over my shoulder, terrified that you would one day spot me and take me back to that… that awful place. I couldn't sleep properly for months and even now, there are nights where I can't stand to even shut my eyes in case I see your face again, in case it's all just a dream and I wake up back in that room, back in _your bed_." He didn't say a word. "Now, I hope it's _you_ who has to suffer the way I did. You won't be safe in prison. You won't be safe anywhere once this all gets out." Her eyes drifted over to Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo. "None of you will be safe."

In response to her more than obvious threat, Suigetsu narrowed his eyes. "If we're exposed, that means you will be, too. Is that what you want? Do you really want everybody to know what happened to you?"

"If it means others will be safe from bastards like you, from the things you all did to me, I'll do_ anything_."

Ao started pacing as he heard cars skidding to a halt outside the house, as many footsteps rushed to the front door. They didn't knock so as the door burst open and people flooded into her home, Ao immediately moved in front of Gaara in a protective stance. It seemed, like the others, he had realised how much Gaara meant to Sakura.

The familiar face that appeared in the doorway had Sakura's heart racing with happiness, had that awful weight on her shoulders lifting. Relief. It was finally over.

"They're in here!" Shisui yelled over his shoulder as he knelt down and checked Dosu's pulse before moving to check Kabuto's.

At his words, more officers filled the room and with them were paramedics, the sight of them making Sakura's eyes widen before she was thrashing in Naruto's hold again.

"Help him!" she screamed desperately, her hand lashing out in Sasuke and Gaara's direction. "Please help him! _Please_!"

Having so many people around had Ao whining in distress, but it soon faded to vicious growls as the paramedics took a step towards Gaara. However, just as he lowered himself, preparing to pounce, Sakura's voice reached his ears, telling him to stand down and let them pass. Obediently, he did so, though he didn't stray far and more than once, one of the paramedic's eyes shot over in his direction, their uncertainty obvious.

"What happened?" Shisui demanded as Itachi slipped the gun in his hands into the plastic wallet being held in front of him.

As Itachi filled Shisui in, officers handcuffed the others and more paramedics checked on Dosu, Kabuto and Zaku.

"We're going to have to take him to the hospital _now_!" One medic's voice seemed much louder than the rest, causing Sakura's head to whip around so she was once again looking at Gaara. Sasuke had backed away, though she appreciated it as he stuck close to Ao and Gaara. "He's lost too much blood and there's little we can do here."

And as they placed him on a stretcher, Sakura stumbled forward and out of Naruto's hold, grabbing one of the medic's by their arm. "P–Please. I need to go with him!"

The medic noticed how a couple of officers were eyeing her warily, most likely wanting to question her, but just as he opened his mouth to tell her she should stay, his eyes locked with hers. Desperation. Agony. Sadness. In a moment of pity, the medic nodded once, lifting his hand and gingerly touching her face as though he was assessing her wound. "I don't like the look of this." he spoke loud enough for the others to hear. "There may be a fracture, so we should take you with us just in case."

Once they were out of view, Sakura gave him a grateful smile and whispered her thanks before she was climbing into the ambulance after Gaara, taking a seat beside his gurney and taking one of his hands tightly in her own.

It hurt that there was a chance she could never hear his voice whispering her name again, telling her that he loved her. It hurt that she might never be able to wake up to see and feel him holding her against him; his warm embrace making her feel loved and accepted. That she might not ever see his icy blue eyes looking into her own with his usually hidden emotions revealed to her, was agonizing. Her heart clenched at the thought of losing him, of not having him with her, supporting her, listening to her problems and promising that she would never have to face them alone.

"Stay with me. You promised." Sakura whispered as she brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Remember? You promised me that no matter what, you'll always be there for me."

There was no reply.

* * *

><p>Sakura was pacing like a wild animal and every so often, she would run a trembling, bloody hand through her hair.<p>

Others watched her warily as they passed her by and more than once Sakura had noticed how they eyed her, wondering if she was mentally stable. That was only vaguely, however. They were unimportant to her.

Since entering the hospital, Sakura had been asked to sit in the waiting area to be seen since her injuries weren't so severe. However, as they took Gaara away from her, she hadn't been able to sit down once. She was too restless but at the same time, she felt so numb.

They had taken him from her over four hours ago and nobody had appeared to inform her on how he was doing.

"Sakura–chan!"

Her head snapped up and as her eyes locked with three familiar figures, she almost burst into tears right there and then. Naruto, as expected, was right at the front, his eyes wide with worry. Sasuke was close by him and though his concern for her was hidden, Sakura could still see it clearly. Behind him stood Itachi, who seemed to visibly relax ever so slightly as he saw her. She may not be okay, but she was alive.

"I'm okay." she told them flatly as the numb feeling seemed to increase. "But… They haven't told me anything about Gaara, yet."

"I will go and find a doctor." Itachi told her, giving her a small, comforting smile before disappearing down a corridor.

Turning back to face Naruto and Sasuke, her body tensed as she noticed Naruto's eyes were not on her own like Sasuke's were and, following Naruto's gaze, her eyes fell on the scars on her wrists and for a moment she could only stare down at them, not sure of what else to do with herself. There was the sound of somebody being hit and when Sakura finally looked back up, she saw Sasuke glaring at Naruto and Naruto frowning at the ground.

"Sorry." the blond muttered. "I didn't mean to stare."

"I–I can… cover them, if it'll make you more comfortable?" Sakura asked awkwardly as she averted her eyes, pressing her wrists against her bare thighs.

It suddenly dawned on her that even though Gaara wasn't disgusted or made uncomfortable by her scars, that didn't mean others wouldn't be. Knowing that made it even harder to think there was a possibility she could lose him. It made her heart clench and tears fill her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to control them.

"No." Naruto shook his head and quickly pulled Sakura into a comforting hug. "Don't hide yourself from us, Sakura–chan. We're your boys remember? And I promise I'll be here for you from now on."

His words only made her cry harder.

"I'm scared." she whispered to him and in response to her words, he tightened his hold. "W–What if Gaara isn't okay? What if he dies? It'll be… It'd be my fault!"

The sight of Itachi coming up the corridor caught their attention as behind him, just like he had told her, was a doctor. Immediately, Sakura pulled out of Naruto's hold, but grabbed his hand as she walked forward.

"You're all with Sabaku Gaara?"

Sakura quickly nodded. "_Please_… is he okay?"

The doctor sighed. "He lost quite a lot of blood and has taken quite a beating. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Without even missing a beat, Sakura filled the doctor in on everything that had happened, from Gaara trying to keep Sakura safe by slamming himself into Kabuto, effectively throwing them both down the stairs, to fighting with Zaku, to taking a bullet to the shoulder to stop her from being shot in the heart, to him being knocked down by Zaku, to helping Sakura standing before he collapsed.

"He cares about you a lot, then." the doctor commented before speaking once again. "Gaara–sama will live, but for the moment, he's unconscious. He should wake within the next few days, but no sooner than that. As I said, he lost a lot of blood but thankfully we have plenty of his blood type here. He suffered a concussion – I believe it may be from the fall down the stairs – a broken hand, twisted ankle and was shot. Apart from that, he only has a couple of nasty bruises and small cuts, mostly on his back."

Tears started to fall once again. Gaara had taken such a beating just to protect her and it made her heart hurt.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Naruto asked, his hand tightening its hold on Sakura's.

"Yes."

Finally looking back up at the doctor, Sakura stepped forward. "I want to see him."

"I'm sorry, I can't–"

She shook her head. "I _need_ to see him. Please?"

Naruto tried to pull her back, but Sakura wouldn't budge. "Come on, Sakura–chan. Gaara's not awake right now."

"That's not the point!" Sakura yelled at him before yanking her hand free and glaring at the doctor, who didn't seem all that bothered by her raised voice. "Please? I need to see Gaara. I have to see for myself that he's okay. He did everything he could to keep me safe and the least I can do is be there for him when he wakes up!"

Once again, the doctor shook his head, looking as though he pitied her, which only made Sakura angrier. "You're not family, so I can't allow you access to Gaara–sama. As you all already know, he is a Sabaku – one with a history. We need to keep–"

"Don't go bringing up his past!" she all but screamed at the doctor and in response to her outburst, the man took an unsure step back. "That has nothing to do with this. Gaara's different now!"

"Please, try to stay calm."

"Stay calm? _Stay calm_? Listen, this _is_ calm. Now if you don't let me see Gaara, I'll show you what I'm like when I'm _not_ calm."

Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of her, giving the doctor a chance to escape before he really pissed her off. "Sakura, stop shouting. We're at a hospital. People are already giving you funny looks because of the amount of blood on you and the way you're dressed – or lack of dress – and you're just gaining more unwanted attention by screaming at doctors."

Beside him, Itachi nodded once. "Come, Sakura. I have contacted his siblings and they will be arriving soon. We should go and sit in the waiting room."

She shook her head again. "I'm going to see Gaara."

"Sakura?"

At the soft, feminine voice, they all turned and were slightly surprised to see a middle aged woman stood in front of them, her dark eyes widening at the sight of Sakura. Almost instantly, the dark haired woman was by her side.

"Shizune–san?"

Shizune nodded once and gave her a soft smile. "It's me, Sakura. What happened to you? Why are you only wearing a shirt? Are you okay? Have your injuries been checked out yet?"

Seeing their confusion, Sakura looked over at the Uchiha brothers and Naruto, who were all sending her questioning looks. "Guys, this is Shizune–san, she's a doctor here and she's… she's the woman who saved my life. Several times. Shizune–san, this is Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother, Sasuke and Namikaze–Uzumaki Naruto."

"These are the friends you told me about?" Shizune asked with a smile before turning to them and lowering her head respectfully. "Sakura has told me a lot about you all and it's nice to finally meet you, though I can't say I'm all too happy about the circumstances."

Grabbing Shizune's hand, Sakura also grabbed the woman's attention. "Shizune–san, I know that you might not be allowed to do this, but _please_, can you get me into Sabaku Gaara's room?"

She frowned. "Isn't Gaara–kun the boy who was shot?"

Tears once again filled Sakura's eyes and seeing them, Shizune's eyes widened. "It's my fault." Sakura whispered, her hold on Shizune tightening. "I–It was because of me that he was shot."

"Sakura–chan, it wasn't your fault!"

"It is!" she screamed at him. "If I wasn't so useless I would have been able to get out of the way! If I had gotten out the way, Gaara never would have taken that bullet for me. _It's my fault_!"

Shizune's features became serious as she pulled Sakura to the side of the hallway, the three behind them following. "Sakura, please keep your voice down. Do not forget where you are. This is a hospital, where people come to be treated, not a playground. As for allowing you into Gaara–kun's room, I will only do so on one condition." When Sakura nodded quickly, Shizune continued. "Before you go to see Gaara–kun, I am going to treat your wounds. I don't like the look of this bruise," She gingerly brushed her fingers against Sakura's cheek, resulting in the girl wincing as pain flared, "and it is obviously causing you pain." Then, she paused for a moment before facing the three men. "Have any of you contacted Mebuki–san or Kazashi–san?"

Itachi nodded once. "I have. The soonest they can be here is tomorrow."

This seemed to annoy Shizune, but instead of voicing her annoyance, she simply shook her head and sighed. "Is there any chance you will be able to go to Sakura's home and grab her some clothing, Itachi–san?"

He shook his head. "No. The house is under investigation right now."

"What about Ao?" Sakura suddenly demanded. "Where is he? Is he okay? You haven't left him with all those strangers, have you? He doesn't like them!"

"I took him to our home when you left in the ambulance, Sakura." Sasuke answered.

Naruto laughed. "It was more like he took _you_ to your house! That thing was practically dragging you there."

"Who's Ao?" Shizune asked, chuckling softly.

Sakura smiled. "He's my dog."

"I think he's more than that, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically whilst waving his arms around. "I mean, did you see him? He got so protective of you! When he saw that bastard Kabuto trying to rap–"

Once again, Sasuke hit him upside the head. "Oi, don't shout stuff like that!"

But Shizune wasn't listening to Sasuke as she immediately turned back to Sakura, her eyes wide with worry. "Is that true, Sakura?" she asked quietly, though her voice was firm and serious. "Did Kabuto really try to rape you?"

"You mean try to rape me _again_." Sakura retorted, her eyes lowering to the floor. "It was him, Shizune–san. It was him who attacked me in the woods as well as when I left home for two weeks. I didn't even realise it was the same guy until tonight."

Her hand was suddenly being held and when she looked up, Sakura saw Shizune looking at her sadly. "Come on, let's go and get you cleaned up. I'm sure we can find you something to wear, even if it's only scrubs or a hospital gown."

"A hospital gown?" she demanded in shock and disgust. "I'm not wearing one of those things! My ass will be on show." Her eyes shot to Naruto's. "Ring Ino! Tell her to bring me some clothes and if she says no, tell her what they're forcing me to wear!"

The three men chuckled as they watched Shizune dragging Sakura away before their chuckles faded and they exchanged glances.

"It was the same guy." Naruto mumbled. "And he would have raped her again _in front of us _if Ao hadn't stopped him."

Itachi's fists clenched, but otherwise remained emotionless as he shook his head. "Do not think that way, Naruto–kun. None of us would have allowed him to rape her."

"He would have shot her if we tried anything!" Sasuke snapped before taking a calming breath. "We shouldn't worry about it now, though. It's over. Kabuto can't hurt her anymore."

Naruto smirked. "I don't think he'll be able to use his left leg that well anymore. I mean, did you see how Ao tore into him? It was crazy! He was all," Naruto shook his head whilst growling savagely, trying to look like Ao had, "and Kabuto was all like," suddenly, his features twisted to that of pain as he tried to look like Kabuto had.

"Idiot," Sasuke shook his head before following Itachi over to the waiting room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – Hm. I might start updating this story more than once a week, as there are only six/seven chapters left. But then again, I like making you all wait to find out what happens next ;-)**

**I noticed earlier that I've been typing 'Genma' as 'Gemna'. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has done that? I genuinely thought his name was Gemna. Ugh!**

**Oh and how do you all feel about KakaSaku, or ItaSaku? I've got about four stories of the latter pairing waiting to be posted on here (they're almost half finished) and I have about two or three stories of the former pairing also waiting to be posted. When they're half finished, I'll start posting them for you! Oh and I have more GaaSaku. Maybe even some SasuSaku ;-)**

**That isn't my surprise for you all though. You're going to have to wait to find out what it is!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	64. Leave Her Alone!

**Chapter ****64 – ****Leave Her Alone!**

Shizune didn't say a word as she helped undress Sakura before guiding the girl under the showers, leaving her alone for a couple of minutes so that she could try and find something for her to wear. Using the soap and sponge Shizune had given her, Sakura began to wash her body, scrubbing hard at the blood that was staining her skin. It made her feel sick to her stomach knowing that it wasn't her blood. It was Gaara's.

Increasing the pressure of washing her body, Sakura bit her lip. It was everywhere! On her thighs, her stomach, her hands and arms… his blood was even under her nails! And if it wasn't Gaara's blood that was covering her, it was Kabuto's. Sakura wasn't sure which one was worse. Either way, she was coated in either the blood of the man she loved with all her heart, or it was the blood of the man who had raped her.

Before Sakura could even stop herself, she was falling to her knees and throwing up the contents of her stomach. Throaty coughs echoed around the shower room, as did her whimpers of distress and retching. Her vomit mixed with the blood that had been washed from her body, swirling around the drain together before disappearing. The sight only made her retching even worse, only made her stomach twist more violently.

That was how Shizune found her and the second she heard the sound of her throwing up, the doctor quickly set the items of clothing down on a bench before darting into the shower, not caring about her own uniform as she did so. The sight of Sakura on the tiled ground, trembling and looking so broken, almost shattered her heart.

Without saying a word, Shizune knelt down beside her and rubbed her back in soothing circles, hushing her and telling Sakura that it was okay. She didn't even have the energy to tell Shizune that nothing was okay.

Once certain that Sakura would be able to stand, Shizune helped her do so and proceeded in bathing her. Naked bodies didn't bother her. She was a doctor, after all. Besides, it wasn't like this was her first time washing Sakura. During her stay in the hospital after trying to take her life, nobody except for Shizune could get close to Sakura. If anybody else tried, the girl would throw a fit of rage and attack.

"I didn't know you were engaged."

At the hoarse voice, Shizune glanced down at the head of pink hair, the water making it look a couple of shades darker. Then, her eyes fell on the ring on her wedding finger and a soft smile graced Shizune's lips. "My partner proposed to me last weekend. It was our fifteen year anniversary."

Fifteen years? Sakura glanced up from the ring to Shizune's face. The woman didn't seem a day older than twenty–five! There was a maternal edge to Shizune and just like a lioness, she could be fiercely protective of her cubs. Sakura knew that Shizune didn't have any children. No, instead of it being her children she was protective of, Shizune was protective of her patients and friends. It was what Tsunade liked so much about the woman and not only her, but also Sakura. Being around Shizune made Sakura feel calmer and more collected, because Shizune could also be stern and unyielding. She was no pushover.

"There must be something wrong with him if it took the guy fifteen years to propose to you." Sakura whispered, her eyes going back to the ground as a smile pulled at the corners of her lips. "You must be very happy with him, though."

"I am." Shizune answered quietly, continuing with washing Sakura's body. "Genma makes me very happy."

Silence.

Sakura blinked once, twice and then a third time before her eyes snapped up to Shizune's, wide with shock. "Y–You're engaged to Genma–sensei?" she practically yelled. "_Genma–sensei_!" Ino was going to throw a bitch fit that the – in Ino's opinion – hottest teacher at Konoha High School was off the market. In Sakura's opinion, Genma was only the second hottest. Kakashi was _the_ hottest. There was no competition.

The dark haired woman chuckled. She already knew that Genma was Sakura's maths teacher. They had discussed her quite a few times. Obviously not Sakura, Shizune's patient, but Sakura, Genma's student. He told her how her mood seemed, if she looked happy, how she was doing. Genma secretly looked out for her just as much as Kakashi did and not only for Shizune, but for Sakura. At first, it had been only for Shizune, but as time went on and Genma realised the reasoning behind her leaving, realised how sweet Sakura was once you got to know her and wasn't anything like the other teachers said she was, he looked out for her for nobody other than _her_. It was almost like the way a brother would look out for his younger sister, although that may have been pushing it a little bit too far.

"Yes." She smiled and once done cleaning Sakura, she guided her over to the clothing she had found. "Lucky for you, there was an extra set of scrubs."

Sakura was left alone for a couple of moments so that she could dress in privacy, though she knew that Shizune was close by, ready to help her if Sakura needed it.

Once dressed, Sakura accepted the brush Shizune handed her and brushed through the tangles in her hair. She only vaguely noticed the slight trembling of her hands, of the fact her breathing and heartbeat had suddenly increased. However, it seemed Shizune noticed as she stepped in front of Sakura and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Sakura." the woman told her softly with a smile. "Follow me. I still want to examine your wounds before I allow you to visit Gaara–kun."

Just the mentioning of his name had her nodding quickly.

* * *

><p>It felt like forever had passed before Shizune was guiding her to Gaara's room. Because of her position in the hospital, she could pretty much do whatever the hell she wanted. Sakura would never admit it to her, but she thought it was rather badass how Shizune ordered people around, how she followed her own rules. Okay, so that was a slight exaggeration since she still had to follow the same hospital rules as everyone else, but the only person she answered to was her boss.<p>

And then finally, Shizune was ushering Sakura into the room that held Gaara.

She held her breath, biting her lip hard as she looked around.

"Sakura?"

"Sakura!"

The sound of her name being called by those who were definitely _not_ Shizune had her head snapping in their direction, had her eyes widening as two figures stepped in front of her. Both of them had a look that was a mixture of worry and relief on their features. "Temari, Kankuro." she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I–I'm so sorry! I tried to… I tried to help but I couldn't!"

Temari pulled her into an embrace and for a moment, Sakura was completely stunned. Whilst they had been getting to know each other quite well over the past three months, Sakura still wouldn't have thought that Temari would be so worried about her or that she would _hug_ her!

"We don't blame you, Sakura." Temari said softly as she awkwardly rubbed her back, trying to remember what her mother had done to calm her as a child. It wasn't that Temari thought of Sakura as a child, it was just that it had always worked to calm her down. "And we have already spoken with Itachi, Sasuke and Naruto. They told us everything that happened." Pulling back ever so slightly and holding her at arms–length, Temari gave her a serious look. "How are you feeling?"

She opened her mouth to answer her, to tell her that she would eventually be fine, but just as she did, her eyes locked on a certain figure laying motionlessly on a hospital bed. The tears that had previously been filling her eyes poured down her cheeks, her entire body trembled and she took a wary step back. She didn't even notice how she had bumped into Shizune, who had been listening to them closely as she read over the notes left by Gaara's doctor.

He was so still…

So pale…

If it wasn't for the beeping of the machines telling her that his heart was beating and if it wasn't for the shallow rise and fall of his chest, Sakura would have been certain that Gaara was dead. Oh God just the thought made her want to throw up! All she could see was his paler than usual face.

"Sakura," Shizune spoke warily, knowing just how unpredictable Sakura could be, "it's okay. Look! Gaara–kun is going to be fine. He's just going to be asleep for a little while." As she spoke, Shizune revealed the notes to Sakura as proof and gave a gentle smile. "They had to keep him unconscious so that the pain wouldn't be too much for his weakened body to handle right now. Come here." Before any of the others could say anything, Shizune took her hand and moved towards Gaara, but as she did, the more panicked Sakura would become.

"Stop!" she yelled, yanking her hand away. "Stop it! I've killed him! It's all my fault!"

Shizune ignored her cries as she once again took a hold of Sakura's hands and, with quite a struggle, pulled her closer to Gaara, ignoring Temari and Kankuro as they yelled at her. It was important that Sakura didn't go on like she was. The guilt would be too much for her fragile mind to handle right now and it would kill her. It would literally kill her. After all, suicidal tendencies never truly went away.

Once by his side, Shizune tightened her hold on Sakura's hand and dragged it over to Gaara's cheek, forcing her to feel the warmth of his skin. Then, her hand moved downward to feel his pulse and as she did, Sakura slowly calmed down, her eyes widening and a happy sob tearing from her lips. And finally, Shizune placed Sakura's hand over Gaara's heart, allowing her to feel the steady beat that had often lulled her to sleep.

"See?" Shizune said gently, removing her own hand even though Sakura didn't move hers away. Instead, she moved closer, brushing the hair out of Gaara's eyes as she cried with happiness. "Gaara–kun is alive, Sakura. I'm sorry for scaring you just now, but you had to see it for yourself."

"Was the stress necessary?" Kankuro asked with a hard voice as his eyes narrowed. "After everything that has happened tonight–"

"Kankuro–kun, I know–"

"You_ don't_ know!" he yelled, though immediately lowered his voice when Sakura shot him a look of warning. "Listen, it's great that you showed Sakura that Gaara's fine, but you don't know how much my brother cares for her. He literally took a bullet to keep her safe! If anything was to happen to her…"

Temari sighed and gave Shizune a somewhat apologetic look. "What Kankuro is trying to say is that Sakura is a part of our family now. She means everything to our brother and he means everything to us."

There was a smile on Shizune's lips as she nodded once. She was truly glad that Sakura had such good friends now, especially after everything she had been through. "Forgive me. I know it must have seemed harsh. But, just like you said, after everything that has happened tonight, Sakura is going to be under a lot of stress. If she had continued to go on until Gaara–kun woke up, believing she had killed him, then…" Shizune sighed, her eyes lowering to the ground before looking back up at the two siblings, both of them now understanding what she meant. "I must go now, but I will be back shortly to hand Sakura a couple of items."

Brows furrowing with confusion, Kankuro asked, "Why?"

Shizune let out a soft laugh. "You honestly don't expect her to leave any time soon, do you?" Gesturing to Sakura with her hand, she then added, "There are very few things that will keep Sakura calm and I know that soon, the shock and everything else that will come from what happened tonight, is going to catch up with her. I will be informing Tsunade–sama, though I have no doubt that she already knows due to her connection with Naruto–kun's family."

As the two siblings glanced over at Sakura, they could tell that Shizune's words were the truth. There was not a chance in hell of separating her from Gaara. Not until he woke up. It was probably why Shizune had been so firm in her decision to treat Sakura's wounds before coming up to Gaara's private room. Right at that moment in time, the girl was hovering over Gaara, seeming unable to tear her eyes away from his face as she continued to stroke it lovingly, as she brushed the hair away from his face. What surprised them most was when she kissed the kanji on his forehead, since they both knew how secretive and defensive Gaara was of it.

Their brother had truly fallen for her, hadn't he?

"What keeps her calm?" Temari asked as she looked back up at Shizune. "And what should we avoid doing?"

"Well for starters," Shizune spoke seriously, her eyes narrowing a fraction, "_never_ touch her if she doesn't want to be touch." At their blank faces, the woman realised that they already knew that. "By the looks on your faces, you already know that she will react violently."

Nodding once, Kankuro answered, "We do. Not too long ago, only about two weeks ago actually, Sakura had a panic attack, but I didn't notice the signs until _after_ she had me pinned to the floor like it was nothing."

The dark haired woman couldn't help but chuckle once at the unhappy look on Kankuro's face. "Don't feel too badly about it. Sakura is a lot stronger than she looks, especially when she is frightened." Deciding that was enough talking about her past, Shizune then continued seriously. "There is also only one thing that I know of that can calm Sakura, though that could have changed during the time you have known her. Music. Tsunade–sama and I each have an iPod filled with her favourite songs in each of our offices just in case of an emergency. There have been times when Tsunade–sama has needed to calm her down during one of her sessions and she had soon discovered that music helped. Since then, I have kept the iPod that Tsunade–sama sent to me in my office. There is no telling when Sakura may be brought into hospital or if she would need calming if she was."

"Music?" Temari frowned in confusion. She had heard the kind of music Sakura enjoyed listening to and most of it was angry, so how could it possibly help? "Why would music help calm her?"

"Itachi."

At the soft voice, the three looked over at Sakura, but she was still staring down at Gaara.

"When I was seven years old, he taught me how to play the guitar and since then, whenever I felt stressed or angry, I would simply play it and it would take my mind off of everything. Over the years, he introduced me to different genres of music. Some made me happy and in the mood for dancing and tire me out, some made me feel as though I was releasing all my anger and others made me cry. It's a way to release all my pent up emotions. Now, I mostly just listen to it when I feel stressed or confused or when I need help to relax."

Right now, the memory of Gaara singing to her was playing through her mind on repeat and it was the reason why she was so calm. She wouldn't tell them that, though. No, that particular memory was theirs and nobody else's. It belonged to her and Gaara.

"I never realised Itachi had such an influence on you." Kankuro muttered, remembering how he had badmouthed the Uchiha the first time Sakura had stayed over. Now, her anger didn't seem as dramatic or over the top. If he had been in her position, he would have beaten the shit out of himself. Kankuro was surprised Sakura didn't hit him. Although, saying that, Gaara had gotten in quite a hit for her. "Sakura–"

She shook her head, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. "Forget about it."

When Sakura said no more, Kankuro sighed and turned to his sister and Shizune. "What else?"

"I will be checking in on Sakura every now and then. If she is here for a certain amount of days, no matter my schedule, I _will_ be coming to check on her to make sure she has eaten and taken her medication." Shizune rubbed her eyes lightly, feeling so incredibly tired and wanting nothing more than to go home to Genma. "Also, don't treat Sakura like she is glass, like she is going to break." There was a huff of agreement from behind them and despite not facing them, Shizune just knew that Sakura was rolling her eyes. "Don't be too harsh, yet don't be too soft at the same time. There is nothing she hates more."

Well, except for those who had attacked her.

Shizune quickly shoved the thoughts from her mind as right now wasn't the time to break down. Her chest was aching with the sudden weight on it, of knowing what had happened to Sakura, who had very much become like a younger sister to her.

"I must go now." Shizune said quietly over the lump in her throat. "I still have my rounds to make. Sakura," The girl hummed, but didn't turn around, "I will come back before I leave for the night. Expect Tsunade–sama any time now."

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed as Shizune left before opening them again, only vaguely thanking whoever had pushed over a chair to her so that she could sit down. Her hand was holding Gaara's tightly and every so often, despite the machines telling her his heart was still beating, she would check his pulse just to be certain.

* * *

><p>Not long after Shizune had left, Tsunade had come by and demanded that Sakura told her everything that had happened. Reluctantly, though never moving her eyes from Gaara's face, she did so. She told not only Tsunade every little detail of what had happened, but also Temari and Kankuro, who had both refused to leave the room. Sakura was so grateful for their support.<p>

It was halfway through the night that Sakura had finally passed out due to exhaustion. She hadn't even been able to stay awake long enough for Shizune to return with an iPod as well as a warm sugary drink in case she went into shock. During the night, somebody had covered her with a blanket, but not once did Sakura's hand let go of Gaara's.

However, when she woke up the next morning, Sakura was reminded of the fact that she was in pain and not only that, but _damn _she needed the bathroom! Luckily, because of who Gaara was and his family's importance, he had been placed into a private room, so she didn't need to go far to use the bathroom.

The moment Sakura left the bathroom, Kankuro was no longer in the room and Temari looked as though she was leaving.

"Temari?"

The blonde looked up, her eyes showing how she was currently torn. "There's an emergency meeting at headquarters." Temari told her. "I need to get there as soon as possible because apparently, they can't do anything without me. Kankuro has to go for a while, too. Do you think you could possibly watch over Gaara for us? Neither of us want him to wake up to nobody being here for him." Just the thought of that happening was clawing at her heart.

"I'm not leaving his side." Sakura reminded Temari as she stepped back over to his bed. "I promise I'll look after him this time, Temari."

"Sakura–"

"Don't try telling me that it wasn't my fault." she sighed. "I get that I can't control Gaara's actions, but if I had just done as Kabuto asked…"

When she trailed off, seeming to go into a world of her own, Temari lowered her eyes to the ground before glancing back up at Sakura. "If it helps any, both Kankuro and I are glad that Gaara has you." Sakura's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Of course, we'd rather he wasn't here in the hospital, but don't you get it, Sakura? Before you came along, Gaara never would have helped somebody, not even me or Kankuro. You've helped him change into a better person and for the first time in a long time, he's happy." Temari gave her a small smile. "That is all we want for Gaara. We want him to be happy and he's very happy with you. The fact that he took that bullet for you should prove that he can't lose you, Sakura. You mean so much to him."

Sakura already knew all that, but it _did_ make her feel better hearing it out loud instead of in her own head.

"Now," Temari sighed as she pulled on her jacket, "I have to go and deal with a bunch of old bastards when I'd rather be here for when Gaara wakes up. I'll be back as soon as I can and I know that, right now, Kankuro will be earning himself a couple more speeding tickets so that he won't be gone too long. Call us if something happens."

And just like that, she left and once alone, Sakura glanced down at Gaara before she kissed his cheek softly. "It's time for me to look after you for once, Gaara."

* * *

><p><em>Shit<em> she was so hungover!

Grumbling to herself as she rubbed her head, trying to remember just exactly what the hell happened the night before, Ino left her room with a certain dark haired teen behind her. He was smiling softly to himself and it wasn't fake. Just the fact had Ino's heart racing, but for now, she focused more on the pounding in her head instead of the pounding in her chest.

A memory hit her, making Ino smirk.

There had been pounding last night, too.

The smirk was ripped from her face as the pain in her head increased. "How the hell are you not hungover?"

Sai glanced down at Ino, watching her as she yawned but immediately winced at the stretch she had attempted. Unlike when others were around, Ino's face was clean of makeup and her hair was all pulled back into a messy bun. For some reason, it made him feel happy that she could be herself around him. Sakura had once told him that she could look her worst around Gaara and he would still call her beautiful. She had also told him that _that_ was what made her love him so much, that he didn't care about her appearance and instead cared about _her_. Personally, Sai couldn't see Gaara saying such a thing, but if it made Sakura happy? Who knows. It was obvious the redhead cared dearly for her, after all.

"I didn't drink as much as you," he paused for a moment, making Ino look up at him questioningly before Sai tilted his head to the side with a smile, "beautiful."

It was silent for a couple of seconds as Ino paused outside of the kitchen, staring up at him with wide eyes and a heavy blush staining her cheeks. "Did you just–"

Before she could continue, however, a voice called her name, effectively destroying the mood that had been building between them as Ino groaned with annoyance, gesturing with her head for Sai to follow her. Once they were in the living room, both Ino and Sai immediately picked up on the heavy feeling in the air, of the tension in her parents' bodies. Sai wondered if this was when Ino's father was supposed to question him about stealing his daughter from him or something of the sort. Honestly, he didn't really enjoy romance novels, so he didn't know what was supposed to happen.

"Mom? Dad?" Ino frowned as she looked between them both. "Has something happened?"

Inoichi sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking at his daughter seriously. "You should both take a seat. There's something we need to discuss."

"Look, if this is about last night, I swear I didn't mean to wake you guys–"

"No." her mother said sadly while motioning towards the television. "This is about Sakura–chan, Ino. Please sit down."

Not even questioning them, both Sai and Ino sat down on one of the three leather, cream sofas. They were both suddenly tense, both waiting for whatever had her parents looking as though they were about to throw up.

Ino's eyes filled with tears. "No…"

Realising what she probably thought, Inoichi shook his head. "She's alive, Ino. Just… watch the news. I have no idea how else to say this and neither does your mother."

With building dread, the two teens watched silently as her father pressed play on the remote, the box taking a couple of seconds to unstick before it was playing the news once again. Ino frowned as she recognised the woods that were opposite Sakura and Sasuke's houses. Had they finally caught the guy who had hurt her? God she hoped they did before she found him. Ino knew that if she ever got her hands on the creep, she'd rip him to shreds for hurting Sakura and then force him to eat his own penis.

And then they were showing Sakura's house and something was said that had her blood running cold.

"_It was last night that the man attacked again._" The news reporter told them, her face set in a grim mask and you could tell by the tension in her shoulders that she didn't like discussing topics such as this one. "_Only, he wasn't alone. Police have confirmed that, altogether, there were eleven people in the home of the victim, including herself. The victim and her partner had been home alone for the weekend when a group of six broke into her home and held them hostage at gunpoint. It wasn't long until three males came to their rescue after a distressing phone call was made by the victim._"

The woman paused for a moment, looking behind her and gesturing towards the large mansion, though couldn't move any closer due to it still being under investigation. Ino recognised Shisui not too far from the reporter, his face set in a hard, unreadable mask. "_Things took a turn for the worst, however, when the males appeared, seeming to anger the attackers."_

Ino felt like she was going to be sick.

"_A struggle broke out, injuring many of those inside of the home and it wasn't long until shots were fired."_

Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "Sakura… Oh my God!"

Sai was just as shocked, his eyes wide as he stared at the screen.

"_We can confirm that the boy who was shot was none other than the son of one of the most powerful men in the world. Sabaku Gaara. Right now, the current leader of the Sabaku Corporation, Gaara's older sister, Sabaku Temari, is refusing to comment, although has informed us that he is in a stable condition. We can only hope that he makes a full recovery. As well as Sabaku, another man was also shot. He was one of the attackers and had been shot out of self–defence. His injuries are not life threatening._" The look in her eyes told the world that she wished she was reporting different, that she wished his injuries killed him on the spot. "_Sources tell us that if it had not been for Uchiha Sasuke, younger brother to Uchiha Itachi, leader of the Uchiha Company, the man would have killed the victim."_

Ino nodded her thanks as her father placed the bin in front of her because adding what she had just learned to her hangover, she was certain she was about to throw up at any moment.

"_However, it wasn't until a hero appeared that they had finally gotten the upper hand._"

The blonde's fists clenched. "Until a hero appeared?" Ino snarled. "What the hell? What about Gaara? Is he not considered a hero for getting shot? What about Sasuke–kun or the other two who helped out?"

Nobody answered her.

"_And here he is!"_ Ino's eyes widened as Shisui approached the camera, but just as she was certain that _he_ was the hero, the camera lowered slightly, revealing a very large and mean–looking dog. It didn't go unnoticed how the woman took an uncertain step back, though her smile never faltered for a second. "_This dog did whatever he could to protect his owner. She had kept him outside over night due to unknown reasons and during the struggle, he had broken his way back into the home to save her." T_he woman looked down at Ao, who was sticking close to Shisui and whining every now and then, looking around with such a lost look that it broke Ino's heart. "_Is he okay?"_

Shisui nodded once, patting Ao on the head. "_Ao is looking for his owner. He hasn't seen her since last night before she was taken to hospital."_

The dark haired woman on screen sighed softly, looking down at Ao sadly. "_A fierce protector."_ she commented before turning back to the camera. "_For now, the identity of the victim is being withheld–_"

"_No_." Shisui interrupted her, a torn look in his eyes. "_Earlier this morning, when I went to the hospital to question her, I was told to release her identity. She said, in her own words, that she was tired of hiding away like she was the one who had done something wrong. Not only that, but by coming forward, she is hoping that other victims will do so, too."_

"_Such a brave girl!_" the reporter exclaimed.

"_She is_." he sighed, glancing down at the dog and somehow, despite it being impossible, it looked as though Ao actually nodded at Shisui! "_Her name is Haruno Sakura. Sakura is seventeen years old and attends Konoha High School and she is dear to all those around her, those who truly know her._"

The reporter frowned softly. "_It sounds as though you personally know her." _Shisui refused to answer her question as he stayed silent. It was obvious from the look in his eyes, however, that Sakura was precious to him. It didn't surprise Ino, however. Sakura was special to them all. "_How is Sakura? I mean, after all that has happened to her, how is she holding up_?"

"_Physically, Sakura wasn't too badly harmed."_

"_Thanks to her friends?_" He nodded once, making the reporter sigh with barely suppressed annoyance as she faced the camera once again. "_Since we have now been given permission to reveal the identities of those involved, we will do so. The victim, as you have all just found out, is Haruno Sakura. Her partner, Sabaku Gaara, risked his life to save hers by shielding her with his own body when the main attacker, Yakushi Kabuto, attempted to shoot her. Earlier that evening, three other males came to their rescue and they were none other than the leader of the Uchiha Company, Uchiha Itachi along with his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke as well as Namikaze–Uzumaki Naruto, son of Minato and Kushina. The attackers tried to take control once again, but they were stopped by Haruno's fierce protector, Ao._

"_With the main attackers, Kabuto and Zaku, were the following: Uzumaki Karin, Hozuki Suigetsu, Dosu and Juugo._" The reporter announced, her eyes narrowing. "_Uzumaki Karin also happens to be a relative of Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina. Like Sabaku Temari, however, the Namikaze–Uzumaki family refuse to comment. We–_" The woman cut herself off, her eyes going wide as she gestured for the camera to turn. "_Right at this moment in time, as you can see, Haruno Kazashi and Mebuki are returning from their weekend away! How will the parents react to the news?"_

The blonde's eyes widened as her upper lip curled in disgust, however, it was Sai who commented. "Disgusting. Has the woman no shame?"

Inoichi sighed. "She's just doing her job."

It seemed his wife had a different opinion as she practically growled, "Look at her and the cameraman! They're harassing Kazashi–san and Mebuki–san! Can't they see how distressed the two are?"

"_Can you explain to us how it feels knowing that things could have been so much different had you been home?"_ Neither parent answered the question as Shisui did his best to get them out of the camera view and as he did, Ao ran straight to Mebuki, barking and whining. "_What was your daughter doing home alone?"_

Mebuki's eyes snapped to the reporter's, her fists clenching as she stalked towards the woman and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, bringing her down to her height. Ino didn't fail to notice how Shisui's attempts at calming her were half–hearted. "_Who the hell do you think you are?"_ Mebuki demanded as her grip tightened, ignoring the woman's shocked squawk as she tried to move away. "_My daughter is not a child and hasn't been for a long time because of what happened to her! She has my full trust and I know that Gaara–kun would do anything to protect her. I trust him with my daughter!"_

The reporter's struggles ceased, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "_Haven't you heard?"_

Oh no. Ino's eyes went wide. "She wouldn't…"

"_Gaara–kun took a bullet for your daughter, Mebuki. He saved her life!"_

"She did." her mother whispered, seeming just as stunned as the rest of them.

Her hold slackened on the reporter as she took a numb step back. Kazashi was behind her in an instant, supporting her as Shisui finally managed to take them away from the reporter, though the glare he sent the woman's way wasn't missed by anyone. "_Come with me, Kazashi–san, Mebuki–san. I will explain everything to you."_

"_Where's Itachi_?" Mebuki asked softly, seeming to be in shock. "_Please tell me he is with Sakura."_

Shisui glanced over his shoulder at the camera before turning back to her. "_We will discuss everything away from cameras, Mebuki–san. Do not worry, though, because Sakura is being well looked after right now."_

Once they were out of earshot, the reporter turned back to the camera, only to pause as she squinted at something behind the cameraman. "_Is that…"_ Suddenly, her eyes widened as she and cameraman darted over to the end of the driveway. "_Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke!"_

Ino felt like slapping a hand to her face whilst Sai tilted his head to the side. "Does she not know when to give up?"

"Some people never do." Inoichi told them with his disapproval obvious.

The blonde shook her head before a soft smirk graced her lips. "She's going to regret questioning those two, especially Sasuke–kun."

"_Get out of my face_." Sasuke snarled as he tried to push away the camera, but it wouldn't go away.

"_Please, just let us know how Sakura is doing!"_

He was visibly trembling, his left eye twitching ever so slightly and in response, Itachi watched him warily. "_You want to know how she's doing?" _Sasuke snapped. "_Awful. Why can't you just give her a fucking break, huh? She was attacked last night and you're acting as though you've just won a prize!"_

"_Sasuke_–" Itachi tried to stop him from saying anything more, but the younger brother interrupted him.

"_No! Sakura doesn't want pity and she sure as hell doesn't need somebody like _her_ pretending she cares._" The reporter was stunned into silence, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "_How the hell is this going to make her feel when she sees this? It's certainly not going to help. This isn't some freak show! This is her life_."

And then, his hand lashed out and he grabbed the camera, throwing it to the ground and effectively ending the news report.

Ino's smirk grew. "What did I tell you?" Then, she grew serious, looking up at Sai. "Do you think she'd want to see us right now?"

It was silent for a few moments as Sai seemed to truly think about it before he shook his head. "I think that, right now, Sakura would want to stay with Gaara–kun."

She nodded once as her eyes fixed on the wooden flooring. "I hope she's okay."

They all did.

* * *

><p>Sakura closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to ignore the twisting, uneasy feeling in her stomach. Earlier that day, when Shisui had questioned her and asked for a statement, she had told him to release her identity. Sakura would be lying if she said that she wasn't terrified, because she was. Now, pretty much the entire world was going to know what happened to her. However, in hopes of them finding out about her, Sakura was hoping that more victims of rape and abuse would step forward. She wanted them to see that there were others like them, that they weren't alone to suffer in silence.<p>

None of the others had returned yet. Well, except for Shizune. She had turned up not long before Shisui, handing over some food and her medication for the day.

Looking down at the still–unconscious Gaara, her eyes saddened and her hold tightened on her iPod. Then, being more careful than actually necessary, she sat down on the edge of his bed and placed an earphone into his ear. Sakura wasn't sure if she was allowed to do such a thing or not, but she knew that Gaara would appreciate listening to his favourite band.

"Sorry that I don't have more _Three Days Grace_. I haven't really gotten around to updating my iTunes account for Tsunade–sama and Shizune–san. When you wake up, you'll have to remind me to do it."

She smiled softly at his relaxed face before laying down on his left side, avoiding touching his right shoulder. Wrapping his left arm around her, Sakura tried to pretend that it was him who was actually holding her instead of it being her who moved his arm. Once she was settled, Sakura rested her head on his chest, her ear pressed right above his heart so that she could listen to it whilst also listening to the music as she popped the other earphone into her own ear.

Several hours later, that was how Sakura was found by the Sabaku siblings. Temari smiled softly as she picked up the blanket on Sakura's previous seat, placing it over the girl so that she wouldn't get cold. As she did, Kankuro placed a bag of Gaara's things down on the table not too far from his bed. Neither could deny that it was quite adorable to find Sakura in such a way, but what really made their hearts warm was how at peace they both seemed. Despite everything, it was like, with each other, they could be happy.

They'd make sure that once Gaara was awake, the couple would be nothing other than happy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - There's supposed to be some big announcement today with the next Naruto manga chapter, so I've been checking mangastream every hour hahaha.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	65. I'm Glad He Has You

**Chapter 65 – I'm Glad He Has You**

It had been several days since the attack. Gaara still wasn't awake, though his doctor continued to tell his siblings and Sakura that he would be waking any day now. In fact, according to his doctor, Gaara could probably be able to hear them. Since discovering that, whenever they had been alone, Sakura had sung to him. She told him about her day, about what had been happening. Not only that, but Sakura would tell him that she needed him to wake up, that when he did, she was going to be the one to look after him for a change. Then, when he was fully recovered, she was going to make sure that they were happy every single day.

Her parents had turned up the same day they returned, though because of Sakura being asleep, she had missed them. They came back the day after, telling her how sorry they were for leaving her alone. Her mother had cried so hard, begging for Sakura to forgive her. She cried with her and even Temari looked close to tears, so she and Kankuro had left the room to give them some privacy. Not long after, Sakura fell asleep in her father's arms. It reminded her so much of when she was a child, how being held by her father made her feel so happy and untouchable, like nothing would be able to hurt her. She wished it was still like that.

Yesterday, Ino and Sai had come by, bringing flowers for Gaara. She felt awful, but Sakura hadn't been able to focus much on the pair. All she managed to hear was "we're officially a couple, now" and "we hope Gaara gets better soon" but that was all. Everything else had sounded like noise. In the end, Temari had noticed how Sakura was in her own little world and told Ino and Sai that it would probably be better to come back another day. Ino had argued, but Temari had somehow been able to get her out.

Due to the company, Temari had had to leave once again, muttering about meetings and conferences. Kankuro stuck around though and kept Sakura company. Unfortunately, Sakura herself wasn't much company, so they sat in silence.

"Oi, Sakura," Kankuro called out as he stood up, grabbing his jacket, "I need to go and meet with Chiyo–baa and Baki."

"Okay."

When she didn't even glance over at him, Kankuro sighed. It seemed to be one of those days. It had only happened once, in all honesty. The third day Gaara had been unconscious, Sakura had been pretty much silent, only speaking when she absolutely had to. Otherwise, she'd simply nod or shake her head. That had been the day Ino and Sai came to visit. Yesterday, in fact. Maybe Sakura was just worried?

"He'll wake up soon." Kankuro told her quietly as he slipped his jacket on.

The look in her eyes, the broken, worried look, had him faltering in his movements. "How do you know?" There was a shake in her voice and soon enough, tears filled her eyes. "The doctors said that he should be awake by now, b–but he's not! What if Gaara's in a coma? _W–What if he never wakes up_?"

Her last sentence had been whispered harshly, her eyes desperate. With another sigh, Kankuro approached the bed and looked down at his brother's face. When he spotted what he was looking for, Kankuro smirked softly and glanced at Sakura, who was watching him curiously. "See this twitch?" Gesturing to the slightest twitch between Gaara's brows, he continued. "That's how I know he'll be awake soon."

Sakura's eyes widened. It was so very faint, barely even noticeable! If Kankuro hadn't pointed out the very slight crease, she would never have spotted it. "R–Really?"

"Really." A single tear slipped down Sakura's cheek as she smiled happily and held back her sobs. "I figured it out not too long ago, actually. Whenever Gaara got really angry to the point where I had to restrain him before he hurt one of us or himself, he'd go to sleep for a while. Well, we'd have to give him a sleeping pill." He ignored Sakura's scowl of disapproval. "One of us would stay with him, to make sure he wouldn't wake up and lose his temper or hurt himself…" Kankuro paused for a while, seeming to think of a bad memory before continuing. "Over time, I discovered he always scowls slightly before waking up. That's how I learned to prepare myself for anything."

Glancing down at Gaara, she smiled softly. "Gaara told me once that I move around a lot when I'm about to wake up."

"So will you be okay alone for a while?" Kankuro asked after a couple of minutes.

"What if he wakes up whilst you're gone?"

He smirked. "Somehow, I think he'll prefer waking up to _you_ all over him rather than Temari."

She blushed. It hadn't even crossed her mind what she would do when Gaara woke up. Knowing her, however, she'd probably cry. "I'll be fine." Sakura told him. "But I'll call you if there's any change."

He nodded once in thanks before leaving, though he paused in shutting the door. Noticing this, Sakura frowned. A second later, as the door opened once again, her eyes widened.

"Naruto."

There were a couple of bruises here and there on him, but Sakura knew she looked no better. Despite it being four days since the attack, they were all still pretty banged up. Gaara's injuries were obviously the worst. Itachi was the least injured. Only his knuckles were slightly grazed. Sasuke had a sprained wrist, a broken nose and a bruise here and there. Naruto had a black eye, a broken nose and the lower half of his back was a little banged up. Apparently he had been lucky as any closer to his spine and he could have had permanent damage. Sakura's outer thighs were covered in scratches from where Kabuto had tried to get her off him. The side of her face was bruised and had a small laceration from when she was hit in the face by the gun. Her lip was busted, her knuckles were cut up, her back was bruised from where Kabuto had slammed her into a wall a couple of times. Also, the right side of her body was bruised and a little sore from where Karin had tackled her to the ground and she had landed awkwardly.

"I would have come to see you sooner," he told her quietly as he moved closer, "but I thought that you'd want to be alone with Gaara for a while. I didn't even know he wasn't awake yet until Ino told me this morning. Actually, none of us knew."

Frowning, Sakura slipped off Gaara's bed and moved over to the window seat so she could sit with Naruto. However, it didn't go unnoticed by the blond how her eyes kept slipping over to Gaara, checking for any change. "Us?"

He sat down by her side and sighed. "Ino _demanded _that we all meet up so she could find out what happened. But… That's not the only thing she wanted to talk about." When Sakura's frown deepened, Naruto once again sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "She wants to throw you a birthday party this weekend." She deadpanned. "I know, I know! We all tried telling her that you wouldn't want to do anything, but she wouldn't listen!"

"I'm not leaving Gaara's side, Naruto." she told him seriously. "Not unless he suddenly wakes up and forces me to and even then, I'm not leaving. I'll stick around the halls if I have to."

"Yeah…" he murmured, looking down at his legs. "Itachi told her that." Sakura blinked in surprise. Itachi had been there? "To that, though, Ino had argued and said that she would throw the party right here, in Gaara's room."

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "No. This room is already small and I know for a fact that Gaara wouldn't want a load of people here the moment he wakes up! It'll be too much for him. Hell, he's not even awake yet! No. I'm not having anybody stressing him out. Tell Ino that if she steps foot anywhere near Gaara's room with a party in mind, she won't be leaving the hospital for a _long_ time."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Don't worry, Sakura–chan! Sai managed to stop her from actually going through with it. Well, he asked her if she had finally lost her mind. To say Ino wasn't happy with him would be an understatement! You should have seen her, Sakura–chan. She looked freaking scary!" Noticing how Sakura was still angry, he sighed and grew serious. "Again, Itachi made her see sense. He said pretty much the same thing as you just did, though he wasn't as… passionate about it."

"You're making me sound like Gai–sensei!" Sakura smirked softly, forcing herself to shove her anger away. "Look, just… tell Ino that I really don't want to do anything just yet. I still need time to… to cope with what happened, you know?" He nodded. "Maybe in a month or two, I'll let her throw a party for me. Tell her she can do whatever the hell she wants with it. Just not right now. I'm not ready, yet."

He gave her that certain grin that promised her the world. "Got it!" Then, his grin faded as his eyes glanced over at Gaara just after hers did. "Why isn't he awake?"

There was genuine concern in his tone and hearing it made Sakura smile. It seemed Naruto really did think of Gaara as a friend now and for that, she was glad. Gaara could do with a friend like Naruto. He was Gaara's exact opposite in some ways, but in others, they were very much alike. No, Naruto's family hadn't ever treated him badly, but Naruto had had his fair share of abuse and torment. Even though he had her and Sasuke, Naruto had had a _very_ difficult time fitting in at school. Whereas some of the other kids were stuck up their own asses (and as embarrassing as it was to admit, her and Sasuke included), Naruto was loud and boisterous. He demanded attention constantly and if he didn't receive it, he would pull pranks and get himself into trouble.

In other words, Naruto had been labelled as an outcast, a troublemaker. No parent wanted their child to get involved with him.

Nobody wanted anything to do with him besides his parents, Sakura's family and Sasuke's family. They all did what they could to make him happy, but it wasn't difficult to see how down it really got him. Those at school would pick at him constantly, doing whatever they possibly could to bring him down. Of course, she and Sasuke stood up for him. Well, the latter doing it in his own way. But it did little to help. At the time, Sasuke was already a popular kid and she was getting the highest grades at school. Shikamaru would have, but he was way too lazy to put in the effort.

They didn't understand Naruto when he got angry. They couldn't understand why he was letting it bother him so badly. Then, when Sakura turned eleven and started high school, she could finally understand him. For a whole year, she had been made to feel like pure shit. Every night, she had cried herself to sleep, wondering just what the hell she had done to deserve to be bullied. Sakura was terrified of going to school. She couldn't stand to be alone (which was where the fear of being rejected and alone truly started). She would constantly degrade herself and whenever she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror… Sakura had felt disgusted with what she saw. It literally made her sick.

The body of a boy. A large forehead. Pink fucking hair. It started with just that, but as time went on and those bullies continued demolishing her self–confidence, her self–esteem, Sakura started noticing every little imperfection about herself. Her upper lip was a little thicker than her lower lip. Her thighs jiggled ever so slightly when she danced and as soon as Sakura noticed it, she quit her dance classes and started dieting to the point of barely eating anything at all. She would weigh herself every single day without fail and every day, when she saw that she didn't lose any weight, it would feel like her heart was shattering.

Why couldn't she be prettier? Why did she have to have such a disgusting body? What boy would ever fall in love with her? At the time, not only did Sakura believe that appearances mattered, but she also had that pathetic crush on Sasuke. It was because of that crush that he distanced himself from her and called her annoying.

Her depression grew worse until one day, after the incident of Karin and her friends beating the crap out of her and cutting her hair off, her mother had asked Itachi to watch over her as she had to return to work for a few hours (not noticing her daughter's distress since Sakura had run straight up to her room, covering her face). Seventeen year old Itachi had no problem with watching over Sakura. However, when he had gone upstairs to tell her and see if she wanted anything to eat, he had found her bloodied and beaten, sobbing her heart out into her arms as she rocked backwards and forth. He had been by her side in an instant and when he shoved her hood down to get a better look, Itachi had acted the way any older brother would to seeing the state she was in. He had demanded to know who the hell had dared to harm her. All she could do at the time was shake her head, her sobbing growing worse until she was wailing, practically screaming, as Itachi ran his hands through her hair, inwardly flinching whenever clumps of it fell off in his hands.

For a while, Itachi had held her, doing whatever he could to calm her down and then, he had taken her to the nearest hair salon he could find and ordered them to do what they could with her hair, knowing that once she had calmed down, the state of it would have her crying again. At the time, Sakura had been very self–conscious about how she looked and unlike the others, Itachi (and Shisui, too) had always noticed it. Once done at the salon, he took her out to her favourite restaurant, ordered their usual to go and taken her home where he had later on demanded once again to know who had hurt her. That time, Sakura had finally managed to stutter out their names.

The girls never bothered her again.

He then stayed with her all night, refusing to leave her alone until she felt better. They had listened to music together and watched movies. And when Sakura had caught a glimpse of her reflection and had looked close to tears, Itachi had given her a soft smile and told her that she was much prettier than those other girls because of her being completely natural. Her imperfections were what made her beautiful and _real_. He told her that guys preferred girls who weren't perfect.

Things got better after that, but Sakura had grown way more protective of Naruto. Anybody who even dared to harm him whether it was physically or verbally, had her to deal with, since Naruto would never hit a girl. She sure as hell would. Sakura also took on guys, teaching them to respect her best friend. Around that time, they started to respect him anyway. He was the class clown, but one nobody could deny that they enjoyed having around. If it wasn't for Naruto, things would be so incredibly dull. He brought life into the school, he made people laugh on their shittiest days and brought smiles to people's faces.

"Sakura–chan?"

Sakura blinked a couple of times and once her thoughts had cleared, she realised she was smiling. Shaking her head softly, she glanced up at Naruto, noticing how his blue eyes were filled with concern. "Sorry. What did you say?"

He grinned and was happy that Sakura came back to him and out of her own little world. "I was just asking how Gaara was doing and if he'd be waking up soon."

It took everything in her to keep the smile on her face, not wanting to cause Naruto any more worry. "The doctors told us that he's making great progress and that he should be waking up any day now. Kankuro told me earlier that it should be any minute or hour now." Well, those hadn't been his exact words, but so what?

"Good!" Naruto practically exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. "I think as soon as he's allowed to leave this place, I'm going to treat him to ramen! I owe him a lot for saving you the way he did."

Sakura's smile was genuine once more as it grew softer. "Naruto," He looked up at her questioningly, frowning at the look in her eyes, "I'm really glad he has a friend like you."

* * *

><p>Naruto had stayed with her for another two hours before eventually leaving, saying something about Kushina wanting him home for dinner.<p>

Looking up at the clock, Sakura sighed. It was getting late in the afternoon, yet neither Temari nor Kankuro had returned yet. Temari, Sakura could understand since she was in charge of a large company that needed her, but what about Kankuro? He had told her he'd be back soon!

Trying to force the worry from her mind, Sakura reached out and grabbed her iPod, once again laying down beside Gaara, wrapping his arm around her waist and as she rested her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and hit play.

The music soothed her and even though it wasn't by Gaara's favourite band, it was still a song she knew he liked. During their time together, Sakura had played a lot of _Thirty Seconds to Mars_ and Gaara had grown to enjoy their music. Though, to him, Jared Leto was apparently too _pretty_. Sakura smirked to herself and rolled her eyes. He was just jealous because of her fan–girl crush on him! The song that was playing was 'This Is War'. She wasn't too sure as to why it was his favourite, but Sakura knew that the song was great so didn't argue.

And then suddenly, the arm around her was tightening, the machine that was beeping somewhere close by was picking up.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"…Sakura?"

She couldn't help it as she shot up in her place, but a second later, the world was changing as she slipped off the bed, the earphones ripping out of both her and Gaara's ears as the iPod clattered against the floor. Sakura cursed loudly as her back collided with the ground, the pain that had slowly been fading coming back tenfold. Fortunately for her, her arms had gone behind her to stop her head from smashing against the hard floor.

Not even picking up the iPod, Sakura pulled herself to her feet. Albeit, rather slowly.

But then her eyes locked with icy blue. And they looked vaguely amused.

Taking one step closer, her hand lifted hesitantly and Sakura gently touched his cheek, wondering if she was starting to see things once again.

He gave her a small smile.

She lunged.

"You're so stupid!" Sakura told him between short, desperate kisses. "So, so, _so stupid_!"

She straddled his hips and her kisses deepened as one of Gaara's hands, the uninjured one, found its way to her shirt, yanking her down against him whilst her hands rested on each side of his head so she didn't accidentally hurt him. Sakura wasn't so gone or lost in the moment that she would forget about his injuries, his shoulder. How could she? It was her fault why he was here. In a hospital. It was her fault why he had been shot and had almost died.

Before she knew it, tears were pouring from her eyes and she was fighting back her sobs. They were not sobs of sadness. They were sobs of relief. Happiness. Gaara was safe. He was alive. He was with her and she would never let him be harmed or get hurt again.

Just as their tongues caressed the other's, just as Sakura lowered herself onto one elbow whilst the other hand moved into Gaara's hair and just as his hips lifted to meet hers, causing her to sigh with pleasure, the sound of somebody clearing their throat caused them to break apart, panting for breath until they realised what – or who – had interrupted them. Gaara shot a tired, yet still effective glare over in the direction of the door whereas Sakura simply ignored whoever it was, still too focused on the fact Gaara was with her and that he was awake. Well, that and the fact her tears were still falling and blurring her vision. There was no point in even attempting to see.

Slowly, Gaara let go of Sakura's shirt, fixing it as he did so before looking back up at her. It was such a relief to see that she was okay. Yes, he was in pain, but so what? He had managed to keep her safe and alive. There were still a few nasty looking bruises on her now wet face, though compared to what could have happened to her if Kabuto had managed to shoot her, they were nothing.

"Give us a few minutes." Sakura grumbled without even looking away from Gaara's face. There was a reason why she wasn't removing herself from him just yet.

Despite only just waking up, Gaara was very aroused.

"I will give you five minutes." A stern voice came from the doorway and Sakura immediately knew that it was Gaara's doctor. "And please refrain from… sexual activities. Not only have you only just woken up, Gaara–sama, but this is also a hospital."

Sakura made a mental note to tease Gaara later about the whole 'Gaara–_sama_' thing. Instead of replying, she simply rolled her eyes and muttered a "moody old bastard" under her breath. When the man left and closed the door, when her vision cleared and Sakura saw Gaara smirking up at her, she smiled.

"You're alive."

His hand came up to her face as he gave her a soft nod. "So it would seem."

"Y–You're still here." The tears were falling once again.

"I am."

"With me."

"Always."


	66. Don't Push Them Away

**Chapter 66 – Don't Push Them Away**

After his doctor had examined him and made sure everything was working correctly, Sakura had been by his side every waking moment. His siblings hadn't been there when he woke up, but Gaara knew why. Apparently, before leaving, Kankuro and Temari had both spoken with his doctor, telling the man that Gaara _would _be waking up any time now and when he did, they would come back later that night. They were giving him and Sakura some privacy. Gaara was kind of glad for that. No, he was really grateful for that.

"Did you really have to scare the nurse off?" he sighed with a mixture of annoyance, disbelief and pleasure.

Sakura gently washed his skin, taking extra care as she did so. "I wasn't going to let her give you a sponge bath, Gaara." An impish smile played at the corners of her lips. "You _do_ know that it would have been – and _is_ – a _full _body sponge bath?"

That look in her eyes had Gaara focusing _really hard_ on _not… _Well, getting hard. Not about the nurse touching him, but about Sakura touching him. Instead of washing his body, it was more like she was caressing it. But as much as he would enjoy making love to her right there and then, his doctor had told him not to take part in any strenuous activities. And Gaara wasn't sure if he would be able to. His shoulder was stiff and numb due to the medicine his doctor had given him and there was a cast on his right arm that was just as numb. Not to mention he was rather exhausted, even though he had more or less only just woken up.

During the attack, when he had knocked both himself and Kabuto down the stairs, he had been aware of the fact that he had sprained his ankle and hit his head pretty hard, but it had barely even bothered him at the time. His mind had been too focused on protecting Sakura. And then the moment Juugo had let him go, when Gaara had tackled Zaku to the ground and beat him, he knew that on his fourth or fifth punch, he had cracked a couple of his knuckles and wrist. Later that night, it had been when he crashed into Sakura, when he had placed that same hand behind her head to stop her from smacking it against the wall, that his hand had been completely broken.

But again, he did not care. She was safe. That was all that mattered to him.

"I thought I'd lost you."

At the broken whisper, Gaara opened his eyes and was shocked to see Sakura staring at him, tears in her eyes as she did so. It pained him to see her in such a way. Just as his uninjured arm lifted to grab her, Sakura threw the sponge into the water once again and gently climbed onto the bed, uncaring that his skin was damp as she held onto his left side tightly. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to be so cautious, that the pain was minimal, but she spoke before him.

"Please don't ever do that again." she sobbed quietly into his chest. "_Please_."

His eyes saddened. "Unless it is to protect you, then I won't."

* * *

><p>During the next couple of days, Gaara was visited by not only his siblings, but also Sakura's parents as well as Naruto and Shisui. The latter had visited him to collect his statement on what happened, but before he had left, Shisui had genuinely smiled at him and told Gaara that he was glad he'd make a full recovery.<p>

Sakura never left his side for a second and whilst at first Gaara had enjoyed having her by his side, he was beginning to worry about her. Shizune came by every morning with food and Sakura's medication, even though it was not really her job to do such a thing. She could have ordered nurses to do it, but Shizune had told him (whilst Sakura was sleeping) that Sakura wouldn't trust any of the other nurses or doctors. Not even his own. Apparently, it had taken Shizune literally dragging her over to his body for Sakura to realise that he was alive. And even then, she had asked Shizune to examine him every day just in case his doctor missed something.

Also, according to Temari and Kankuro, Sakura hadn't left his room once unless it was to use the bathroom that was joined to it. They told him that she had been crying in her sleep and every time she woke up, she would go straight to him and check his pulse to make sure that he was really there. And that was if she didn't fall asleep beside him.

It made his chest feel strange. Was it the fact that he had almost died that caused this? It shouldn't have, but it made him feel a little happy. Sakura truly did love him. But then guilt would overwhelm him. He shouldn't be happy that she was suffering, that she couldn't even sleep without being scared that she had lost him. To make matters worse, she was pushing people away. His siblings had told Gaara that people often came by to visit Sakura, but other than one time with Naruto, she had shut them out. He knew she wasn't purposely doing it as, on more than one occasion, somebody would have to repeat themselves to her. The only person who didn't, was him.

Sakura focused entirely on him, like she was afraid that she would miss something. It was like she was afraid that, if she didn't pay enough attention to him, he would disappear.

No, Sakura didn't sit there and stare at him all day. Instead, she always had to be touching him. Either she would sit on the chair beside his bed and hold his hand or (and he preferred this one much more) she would curl up against him. Gaara couldn't deny that he was feeling the same fear as her, though. That night, they both could have died. He could have lost her. As he slept, he would hear her screams, he would see her being pinned down, crying and trembling and trying so hard to fight back.

It certainly wasn't helping that Sakura wasn't allowing any of her friends to try and help. It wasn't helping that she wouldn't even leave the room.

Which was why he had contacted none other than Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata. Well, it hadn't been _him_, it had been Temari. But he had ordered her to do it. Sakura needed her friends right now and they both needed to try and take their minds off of what had happened.

"Why?"

Gaara sighed. He had just told her what he had done so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed. "You can't push them out, Sakura. You need your friends." She opened her mouth to argue, about to tell him that she had _him_, but Gaara cut her off. "What about Naruto? Or Sasuke? When was the last time you spoke to _Itachi_?"

Today, it was her eighteenth birthday.

And she hadn't even remembered until he mentioned it, waking her up with a quiet murmur of, "_Happy birthday_".

"Even if it is just a front, at least try to smile and ease their minds." Gaara smirked softly at her as he pressed a chaste kiss onto her lips. "I have heard that they are all worried about you."

Slowly, uncertainly, Sakura nodded before getting up. "I suppose I should go and get ready, then. If Ino sees me in this state, she'll end up dragging me into the bathroom and doing who knows what to me." She paused just as she reached the bathroom. "That sounds pretty kinky, actually."

And then she was gone, leaving him to shake his head and smirk at her.

* * *

><p>It wasn't even an hour later that Hinata and Ino arrived, the latter staring wide eyed at Sakura's features before she was dragging Sakura over to the window seat and giving her a makeover. Gaara sighed. Sakura was much prettier without makeup, even if her face was a little bruised and there were dark circles under her eyes.<p>

"Is this really necessary?" Sakura sighed, but did as Ino asked as she looked up at the ceiling and allowed the blonde to do her mascara. Years of practising how to apply makeup on one another had taught Sakura to somewhat trust her doing it. "I mean, it's only us four here." When silence greeted her (not to mention Hinata's sharp intake of breath), Sakura grabbed Ino's wrist, pulling her hand away from her face. "I thought I said no parties, pig?"

Ino rolled her eyes, not in the least bit intimidated by Sakura's glare. She never had been. "It's not going to be a party! I just invited a few people."

"They are all worried about you, Sakura–san." Hinata told her gently as she sat down in one of the seats. "Especially Naruto–kun."

"That idiot was throwing a fit when he found out you forgot your own birthday."

Releasing Ino's wrist, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "He told me the other day that it was _you_ who had the bitch fit."

"Bitch fit?" the blonde growled. "He said that _I_ had the bitch fit? He was practically screaming, saying he didn't know what to get you!"

Due to being in hospital, Gaara hadn't been able to get Sakura a gift. Well, it wasn't that he hadn't bought her one, it was just that it was currently being delivered. After finding out about her birthday at the Hyuuga dinner party, Gaara had been looking online for something he knew for a fact Sakura would adore. They had probably arrived already, but with him being in the hospital, he hadn't been able to collect his mail. To be honest, he didn't get a lot of it, if any at all, so perhaps Kankuro or Temari would bring it to him.

With one last sweep of the brush, Ino smiled brightly, interrupting Sakura before she could say anything. "All done!"

"You haven't made me look like a drag queen again, have you?"

One time, when they were younger, Sakura had allowed Ino to do her hair and makeup and, in her honest opinion, she had looked like a drag queen. It had taken ages to get all of the eyebrow pencil out of her eyebrows! Seriously, did she have to make them _black_? They were so thick, too! And that baby blue eyeshadow… Sakura shuddered. It was safe to say that she had gotten her payback not long afterwards by making Ino look like she had been attacked by cheesy, orange crisps and charcoal.

"We're not kids anymore!"

"We were fifteen."

"Exactly!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura snatched the mirror out of Ino's hands and gave her appearance a quick glance before giving the mirror back. "It will do, I suppose."

"Whatever, forehead. Admit it! I made you look hot." The moment Sakura opened her mouth to retort, Ino turned to Hinata. "Your turn!"

The Hyuuga's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "F–Forgive me. I can't. My father won't allow me to wear makeup."

"What your dad doesn't know, won't hurt him!"

"Ino." Sakura snapped. "No."

She knew how strict Hiashi could be. She had seen and met him at the dinner party. Even then, his daughters' faces had been clear of makeup and their hair had been immaculate. When he had greeted her, Sakura hadn't failed to notice the slight disapproval in his eyes when Hinata introduced her as her friend. He had given her a glance–over, his eyes narrowing on how much skin had been on show and how much makeup she had been wearing, before nodding his head once and turning away to speak with Itachi. Don't even get her started on the look he had given Gaara when he saw the 'tattoo' on his forehead and the fact it looked like he was wearing eyeliner. Oh that man had made her so angry with his judgemental looks! But before Sakura had the chance to snap at him, to demand to know what the hell his problem was (and not to mention that he should be showing Gaara respect – he was a Sabaku, after all), Gaara had literally pulled her away.

"It's only a little bit of makeup." she sighed, shoving her makeup back into her bag. "Oi, Sakura?" When Sakura hummed once, she continued. "Do you remember that website we looked at? The one I showed you?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Which one? You tricked me into checking out all sorts of websites! First was that scary maze game that had me shaking for an hour afterwards and in need of a new laptop screen, the second was a picture of a creepy clown grinning at me like he was about to kill me and the third was that disgusting two girls, one cup video."

Gaara had to suppress a shudder. One time, he had been walking by the office in his home when he found Temari pretty much beating the shit out of Kankuro for making her watch a video she had labelled as 'vile' and 'disgusting'. Unfortunately for him, he had glanced at the screen to see what the big deal was.

He didn't go anywhere near chocolate pudding for months.

Ino burst into laughter, ignoring the disgusted look on Gaara's face and the one of confusion on Hinata's. "Your face had been so funny! You went so pale and actually threw up! Oh and that clown one had been hilarious."

"Are you afraid of clowns, Sakura–san?"

Seeing the confusion on Hinata's face, Sakura sighed. "Not really. I just find them creepy and would rather avoid them."

"Anyway!" Ino said a little impatiently. "I'm on about the website where people can write their own stories about whatever they want! Remember it? We read a few stories on there before!" With her eyes widening, Sakura nodded. "Well, I was on my laptop the other day, just browsing, when I somehow got onto the website and started reading the stories."

Sakura couldn't help but grin. "You started reading fan–fiction again?"

"Wait, you never stopped?"

"No! I had nothing better to do and it's like once you get started, you're hooked." Sakura glanced over at Gaara, her smile becoming more impish. "Gaara would literally have to take his laptop from me to get my attention."

Sighing, Gaara sat back against the upper half of his bed which had been lifted so that he could sit up. It was the truth. Due to Mebuki not being comfortable with Sakura being on social networking sites, she had been using his laptop. Not for those kinds of sites, just online shopping and watching videos. He didn't mind her using his laptop, but when he saw the kind of stuff she had been reading… Gaara inwardly sighed. Now, he couldn't watch certain shows without picturing certain characters together. It was fine, really, because he didn't really enjoy watching the shows Sakura watched, he simply watched them with her because she liked them.

"Some of it is so stupid though! I mean, have you read some of this stuff?" Ino exclaimed, flopping down in the seat opposite to Hinata's. "One was all like 'he tasted like strawberries'. Why? Was his dick a fucking chew–it or something?"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh as Hinata spat out the water she had been drinking from the bottle in her hands, spraying Ino with it as she choked.

"Oh, come on!" Ino groaned at the Hyuuga, wiping down her clothes. Luckily for her, it hadn't reached her hair or makeup, although it _had _reached her neck. "You're acting like you've never even done _it _before."

"I haven't!"

Both Ino and Sakura paused, the former seeming utterly stunned whilst the latter was more understanding. Sakura wanted to say "good for you", because it really was. Hinata was pure. She was different. That was a good thing. On his bed, Gaara tensed ever so slightly, seeming just as uncomfortable with the conversation as Hinata, but even as he glared at Sakura, she didn't focus on him. After all, he was the one who told her not to push her friends away, even if it meant them coming to his hospital room. And it wasn't like she could control what Ino and Hinata were talking about, especially not Ino.

"Really?" Ino gasped as she leaned forward, her eyes bright. "Not even a kiss?"

Hinata frowned, shaking her head.

Seeing that she was feeling upset, Sakura spoke up. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know. I wish I had waited. Although…" She also frowned as she looked down at her legs. If she had waited, would Kabuto have been the one to take her virginity? Just the thought made her feel sick and as though sensing her distress, Gaara's glare lessened. Shaking her head, she looked back up and gave a small smile. "I think it's great that you're different."

"You're like a unicorn!" Ino grinned. "To think that there are still virgins in our year! I thought forehead here had deflowered them all!"

They all stared at the blonde in shock, but Sakura couldn't deny that it was true. "_Please_." she scoffed. "Are you still upset that your first real kiss was–"

"Forehead!" Ino growled.

An impish smirk graced Sakura's lips, one that had Gaara sighing. He knew that smirk. As for Ino's previous comment about 'deflowering' their entire year… Gaara took a calming breath, stopping himself from yelling at her. Sakura was not a whore. She had only willingly slept with three guys (and yes, she had 'deflowered' them all). However, it surprised him that Sakura wasn't upset with the way Ino was speaking to her. In fact, she seemed happy about it. Was he missing something? Had it always been this way between the two?

"W–What are you talking about?" Hinata asked, focusing only on Sakura since Ino's eyes had snapped to her own, silently warning her not to encourage Sakura.

"I was Ino's first kiss!"

Silence.

Gaara was so glad that he hadn't been eating or drinking, although he was certain for a moment there that he would have started choking on thin air like Hinata suddenly was.

Rolling her eyes, Ino huffed. "I'll admit, you don't make it sound as bad or as dirty as it actually was."

Sakura shrugged as she moved over to the chair closest to Gaara's bed. "It wasn't too bad. I'd give you a six, maybe a seven."

"Only a six or a seven?" Ino practically demanded. "Why the hell is my score so low? What would you give Gaara, eh?"

Oh it was so much fun winding Ino up, Sakura thought. Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "I'd give him an eleven – and no, that's not just because you're in the room, Gaara!"

He was silent, staring at Sakura's face in shock. Was this what all girls talked about? Sex and boys? Yes, he was glad Sakura felt comfortable enough talking about sex with others, but did she really have to bring their relationship–

"That's only because he can fuck you!"

Deep breaths. Sakura would beat the shit out of him if he threw Ino out of the hospital window.

"Ino–san!" Hinata practically shrieked, her cheeks going much redder than before. "Y–You can't–"

"_Please_!" Ino waved dismissively. "We've talked about much worse before, haven't we, Sakura?"

She frowned in confusion. "We have?"

"Mm–hm!"

Her frown deepened. "Like what?"

It seemed she was genuinely confused, Gaara noticed. He was just hoping that Ino didn't actually go into details–

"Remember that time before you went on holiday?" When Sakura was still looking confused, Ino groaned. "You know, when we were discussing a certain Uchiha–"

"Not Sasuke." Sakura immediately stated when she noticed out of the corner of her eye how Gaara tensed. Sighing and feeling a little disgusted with herself, she lowered her head. "Itachi. I once had a crush on Itachi."

"What?"

Looking up into Gaara's wide eyes, she pouted. "It didn't even last a month! It's just… when he helped me out with the bullies, he was so kind. I was only twelve or thirteen! He was the first guy to call me beautiful and nobody had ever done anything so nice for me at the time and… Well, I developed a crush. I talked to Ino about it and she told me to just go with it – which I didn't! But then, when our families as well as Naruto's went on holiday, I realised that it wasn't a crush at all. It was love. Not a romantic type of love, but a sibling way. I wasn't attracted to him sexually and I'm still not. I just respect and love him so much!"

"Always so dramatic." Ino huffed before smirking. "I guess I can't complain about only having a score of six or seven back then. It was my first kiss, after all. Pretty high score, if you think about it."

Sakura rolled her eyes and also smirked. "Your score would probably be around the same even now, pig." Ino's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. "No kiss from you would ever turn me on!"

Oh Gaara seriously did not like where this was going. There had always been a rivalry between Sakura and Ino and they had always enjoyed angering each other, in proclaiming that one was better than the other. Even he knew that.

"Oh? Are you willing to prove that, forehead?"

This time, it was Sakura's eyes that widened as she seemed to realise what she had dropped herself in to. "I'm not kissing you, Ino!"

"Why? Gaara doesn't mind, do you?" Just as he opened his mouth to say that yes, he _did_ mind if Sakura kissed another girl in front of him, Ino continued and cut him off. "See? Come on, forehead." Her voice dropped an octave as she stood up and moved in front of Sakura. "Just like old times."

Just _what the hell_ did those two get up to before Sakura had changed? That was all that Hinata and Gaara could think of as Ino knelt down in front of Sakura, a mischievous look in her eyes as she smirked.

"Remember?" Ino practically purred, her hands resting on Sakura's thighs. "That time during Sasuke–kun's party? In my bedroom? In the hot tub?"

Okay those were definitely thoughts that Gaara didn't need in his head right now and he was almost certain that Hinata was about to pass out. She was the reddest he had ever seen her before! Was she even breathing?

"Pig." Sakura growled warningly. "Just how many times did we make out?"

Ino frowned for a moment before grinning impishly. "I don't know!"

When Sakura didn't budge an inch to either pull her closer or push her away, Ino's grin grew more impish as she leaned up. Everybody held their breaths as Ino nudged Sakura's nose with her own, as she looked into Sakura's eyes. Just as the latter frowned and pulled away slightly, however, Ino grabbed the back of her head and locked her in place.

"I'm not only a six or seven, forehead."

And then they were kissing.

And Hinata and Gaara were too stunned to do anything. They had been expecting for them both to start laughing and say "as if you actually believed us" or something along those lines but… Damn. They tilted their heads to the side, watching as Ino slipped her tongue between Sakura's lips. Just what the hell was happening? Gaara felt his uninjured fist clench tightly. Ino hadn't been fair with forcing or tricking Sakura into the kiss, but he couldn't find the words to make them stop! It wasn't that they were turning him on, either. It was just that Gaara was too stunned to do anything.

"Ino!" Sakura growled as she once again grabbed Ino's hands, annoyed as they started to slip up her thighs.

"Admit that I'm not only a six or seven!" Ino whispered between kisses.

But because she was stubborn, that would never happen. "N–" She was cut off as Ino suddenly cupped her breast, once again surprising them all. "_Ino, stop it!"_

"Admit it!"

"No!"

Once again, Ino was kissing her. "I'm not gonna stop."

And that was when the door to the room opened, making them all freeze as Naruto entered with Shisui and Itachi. Both Shisui and Naruto looked close to having nosebleeds as they stared wide eyed at the two girls whilst Itachi merely blinked once, twice and then a third time before glancing over at a red faced Hinata and a stunned Gaara.

"Why didn't you tell us there was a girl–on–girl show?" Naruto exclaimed as he took the seat next to Hinata, grinning when Ino and Sakura looked at him with narrowed eyes, the former lowering her hand away from latter's breast. "Don't stop!"

"What is going on?" Shisui asked warily.

Gaara sighed. "Sakura told Ino that she was only a six out of ten in kissing."

"I missed these things!" Naruto laughed loudly as he scratched the back of his head. "They always used to make out and do stuff together when they got drunk at parties!"

Ino gave another smirk. "See, forehead? _He _remembers!"

Sakura pushed Ino away from her and stood up, glaring down at her. "You're still only a six. Actually, you're only a four now!"

"What?" the blonde shrieked, also standing up. "Why the hell has my score gone down?"

"You're too pushy!" Sakura smirked, folding her arms over her chest.

"You've never complained before!"

"That's because I don't remember any of that! I was always too wasted to even know what I was doing."

Ino pouted playfully. "You really know how to hurt a girl's feelings, don't you?" Sakura merely shrugged. "Okay, so what if I wasn't so pushy and touchy, would my score be higher?"

For a moment, Sakura seemed to be in deep thought. "Can you kiss me like Gaara does?"

The words left her lips before she could even stop them and only silence greeted her before Ino smirked. "I don't know. I never see you touching each other!" Her smirk grew impish as she leaned forward, practically shoving Sakura towards Gaara's bed. "Why don't you show me how it's done, Gaara–_kun_?"

Sakura's eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't even think about flirting with him, pig, otherwise you won't be leaving this hospital for _a long time_."

Ino raised her hands defensively, her smirk never faltering for a second. "Hey, I'm just wanting some tips here!"

Ugh. She sounded just like Kankuro, Gaara inwardly groaned.

"Is it really only about that?" Hinata whispered, staring down at her hands as they fidgeted with her sleeves. "S–Sex, I mean. Is it really only about fulfilling _that_ need?"

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed, making Hinata jump with his loud words. "I'd never have sex with someone I don't love."

Sakura paused in her walk over to Gaara, wincing ever so slightly before she continued, forcing herself to focus on the genuine happy tone in Naruto's voice and not the little, barely even there, pained one. Gaara shifted on his bed slightly, allowing her to sit on it whilst Itachi shut the door behind him and Shisui sat down on the window–seat.

"I believe it is about the connection." Itachi shrugged. He didn't particularly enjoy the conversation, but he wasn't going to allow Sakura and Ino's antics to ruin Hinata's thoughts or possibly her dreams of how she wanted it to be. Most girls wished for their first time to be special, after all.

"Sex can be about two people, right there, in the moment." Sakura said softly to Hinata, smiling ever so slightly at the blush on the girl's cheeks. "It's not always about fulfilling _that_ need."

"Well," Ino smirked, "not always, anyways."

Sakura returned her smirk before it dimmed to a smile. "Hinata, don't worry about things like that! Seriously. If it feels right, just go with it!" As the Hyuuga opened her mouth, about to argue, Sakura cut her off. "I don't mean go around sleeping with different people because it feels right. I mean…" She paused for a moment, seeming to think over her words carefully as the rest of the group stared at her. Sighing, Sakura continued. "I'll admit that I've done things I'm not proud of, but if none of that had happened, if I wasn't the person I used to be, then I wouldn't be who I am today!" Gaara's hand lifted from being rested behind her and he gently placed it on the small of her back. Due to the way they were sitting, nobody could see that he was actually touching her. When Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura, muttering about avoiding the question, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay! Damn it, Ino." Why the hell did the blonde have to know her so well? "Okay. Me and Gaara–"

His hand covered her mouth before he could even stop himself. Luckily for her, however, it wasn't the hand that was covered in a cast. "Don't you think you have said enough about our relationship, Sakura?"

Suddenly, Gaara pulled his hand away, frowning at her as he wiped it on the sheets. Did she seriously just lick his hand? Sakura grinned in response. Yes. Yes she did. "I wasn't going to say anything _too _personal. Just that, one time, it _was_ about fulfilling that need! Every other time hasn't been because of that."

Itachi had to refrain from raising a hand to his face and instead settled on sighing. Not too personal? She had just told them all that not only had she and Gaara had sex, but they had had sex several times!

"Only one time?" Ino purred, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands as she smirked. "That doesn't sound like you, forehead. I know for a fact that you have a high sex drive. Your relationship must be pretty boring."

"It's not boring!" Sakura yelled angrily as a faint blush graced her cheeks. Great! The man she considered to be her older brother now knew she had a high sex drive. The others didn't concern her. It was Itachi she was bothered about. "We've only been officially together for a few weeks or a month at most! I wasn't going," She averted her eyes, sighing, "I wasn't going to sleep with Gaara when I still had feelings for Sasuke, was I? And I couldn't sleep with Sasuke when I have feelings for Gaara. It was so complicated!" Her eyes snapped to Ino's face, narrowed and serious. "Don't think that you know anything about my relationship, pig, because that's not the only reason why we didn't have sex."

Not at all concerned about the serious tone in her voice (because if Sakura was _really_ angry, she wouldn't have called her 'pig'), Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh? And what reasons were they?"

Finally having enough, Gaara snapped, "Enough. Sakura doesn't have to tell you anything."

"No." Sakura's eyes were still on Ino's, still narrowed. "You want to know why Gaara refused to have sex with me? It's because I kept detaching my mind and he didn't want to risk hurting me!" Tears filled Sakura's eyes as they lowered a fraction, so she wasn't staring Ino right in the eye. The move surprised them all because Sakura had _never_ backed down to Ino, but Gaara knew why she was avoiding direct eye contact. "Thirty times, Ino." she whispered. "I was raped over thirty times. Z–Zaku… Zaku _sold my body_ and had Karin record the whole thing."

"Sakura…" Ino gasped and was by Sakura's side in an instant, pulling her into her arms. "I'm sorry." she whispered to her. "I'm always speaking without thinking over my words first, aren't I?" Sakura nodded shakily. "I just wanted to try and take your mind off of everything that had been happening, but even though it's on the news, I completely forgot that you were…" She sighed, her hold tightening on Sakura and her eyes closing. "I didn't… I didn't upset you when I kissed you, did I?" Sakura shook her head. "You've got to admit," Ino's voice was slightly teasing and Sakura rolled her tear filled eyes, "that you _do _want to jump Gaara."

Gaara tensed, but when Sakura's laugh reached him, he relaxed.

"Oh, I have." Sakura replied, pulling away and wiping her eyes. "We've destroyed rooms and everything."

"Destroyed rooms?" Ino yelled, looking down at Sakura in surprise. "What the hell, forehead? Even _I _haven't done that yet! Ugh. Just you wait. The moment Sai comes over, we're gonna–"

"I don't want to know!" she laughed, leaning back when Gaara once again placed his hand on her lower back. "Anyway, thank you guys for coming to see me."

"It's your birthday, Sakura–chan!" Naruto told her, though the usual excitement wasn't in his voice. It was most likely due to what she had said to Ino, but Sakura didn't focus too much on it. "Of course we came!"

There was a moment of silence before Itachi spoke up. "Sasuke would have come, but he didn't want to intr–"

"He could have still come." Gaara interrupted. "He means a lot to Sakura."

"Well it's a good thing I came, then."

They were all surprised to find a smirking Sasuke stood in the doorway. Itachi noticed how the smirk wasn't all that genuine, but he was glad Sasuke was making an effort to make Sakura happy.

"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, his eyes bright. "You missed it, man! Sakura–chan and Ino were making out."

He raised an eyebrow and after shutting the door, he gave Sakura a blank look. "Again?"

"How many times did we make out?" Sakura practically yelled in exasperation.

"Every time you got drunk together." he answered. "It was more to entertain others than for yourselves, though."

Naruto's grin was devilish as he said, "And we were _all _entertained!"

That just made her feel disgusted with herself, for how she previously acted and if the look that flashed through Ino's eyes meant anything, she was feeling the same way. Instead of showing it to the others, however, they simply smiled brightly and laughed.

"Here. Itachi and I both want you to have this."

Sasuke suddenly accepted something from his brother and turned, holding out a rectangular box to her as he moved forward and her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She had seen this certain box somewhere before, long ago. Maybe when she was around ten or eleven? Sasuke seemed hesitant about giving Sakura the gift, but the moment her hands tenderly reached out and held the box in her hands, like it was the most precious thing she had ever seen before, he grew more certain.

And then it hit her like a punch to the gut and when it did, tears filled her eyes. Sakura didn't even need to open the box to know what was inside. "Mikoto's necklace." she whispered, not able to stop the sob that clawed its way out of her. "S–She loved it _so much_."

Itachi nodded once. "Since our mother did not have any daughters of her own, she was always planning on giving it to you for your eighteenth birthday, Sakura, just like she had received it on _her _eighteenth from her mother." It didn't go unnoticed the way Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed for a moment as his jaw clenched and it also didn't go unnoticed how Shisui bit the inside of his cheek. Mikoto had been precious to them all. "Our parents thought of you as their own daughter."

Sakura gave a shaky laugh as she wiped the tears away. "E–Even your dad?"

There was a soft snort from Sasuke's direction and Itachi gave her a small smirk. "Even our father."

"Thank you." Sakura told them both and before anybody could say anything, she gently placed the boxed necklace beside Gaara and embraced Itachi. It surprised the others when he hugged her back, seeming unconcerned by the fact the room was filled with people. Then, she hugged Shisui, who was standing not too far away. _Unsurprisingly_ he accepted the hug wholeheartedly.

And then there was Sasuke.

He seemed unsure about the embrace, but the moment Sakura wrapped her arms around his waist, Sasuke couldn't help but hold her. His eyes were glued to the wall behind her as she rested her head against his chest, as she whispered only to him, "You're still my best friend. No matter what. And I will always love you."

Sasuke nodded once and closed his eyes, sighing. "But you love him more."

Those five words had been the exact words he muttered to her during their breakup and it felt like somebody had, very viciously, whipped her heart. "I'm sorry." she told him. "I do. But… That doesn't mean I don't love you." Pulling back ever so slightly, Sakura gave him a gentle smile as Sasuke opened his eyes to look at her. They weren't guarded. He was showing her his emotions. He understood. "I still need you there as my best friend."

He gave a lazy smirk and tightened his hold, now speaking louder so that the others could hear them. "You're still annoying."

Sakura laughed. "And you're still such an arrogant ass!"

Suddenly, another set of arms were wrapped around her, causing Sakura to tense ever so slightly before she realised who it was. It was Naruto. "You're making us all tear up!" he exclaimed, but despite his words, he held onto his two best friends tightly. "And don't you dare forget about me!"

How could they forget about Naruto? He was the glue that kept them all together. "_Usuratonkachi._" Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to pull away, but both Sakura and Naruto grinned at him in a way that could only be described as unnerving. Creeping him out even further, Sakura and Naruto turned to grin at each other, their eyes filled with a mischievous look and noticing it, Sasuke's eyes widened. "Wait, no–"

They tackled him to the ground.

As Sakura and Naruto continued to try and pin him down, Ino couldn't help but smile. "I'm so glad that my mistakes didn't completely destroy their friendship." Her smile widened into a grin as she watched Sasuke try to get up, as she watched him being showered with affection from both Sakura and Naruto. "I really would have missed seeing this. Nobody else can make Sasuke–kun act like this."

"It will take a lot more than jealousy to destroy a friendship such as theirs." Itachi spoke smoothly, although there was an obvious smile in his eyes. _This _was how he wanted Sasuke to grow up. Maybe not being slobbered with sloppy kisses from Naruto and tickled and pinned down by Sakura, but close enough. Sasuke was happy, even if he looked as though he was trying desperately to stop them.

Shisui laughed at Sasuke. "It's always amusing seeing a girl manage to pin Sasuke to the ground. But it's even more amusing to see Sasuke being attacked with Naruto's kisses!"

Sasuke was cringing and trying to break out of Sakura's hold, to get away from Naruto's kisses, but it was proving to be difficult.

Gaara tilted his head to the side as he watched the three best friends. This was what he wanted Sakura to have all the time. He knew that it couldn't be him in Sasuke's place (and most definitely _not_ in Naruto's place) and he didn't mind. After all, before all of the drama and the lust, they had all been best friends. It had just taken them a while to get back to being friends. It had just taken them a while to sort through all of the love and confusion and pain. Gaara was genuinely happy for Sakura.

And _maybe _he was just reminding himself every couple of moments that even though she was showering Sasuke with affection right now, it was not out of romantic love. No, she was saving that for _him_.

Finally deciding that enough was enough, Sakura released Sasuke, though couldn't stop her laughter as he shoved Naruto to the ground and shot to his feet, wiping his face furiously.

"Don't be like that,_ Uchiha–sama_!" Naruto teased, making Sakura laugh even harder. "We fan–girls only want to love you! And smell your hair! Oh, we wouldn't mind a bag of your toenails either!"

Sasuke actually shuddered with fear and disgust and Itachi couldn't help but feel sorry for his younger brother. It had, unfortunately, been the same for him.

Pulling Sakura to her feet as he pulled himself to his, Naruto turned to her with a sheepish smile. "I haven't been able to find you a present yet, but I promise that whenever you want, I'll treat you to ramen!"

"Lucky me." Sakura smirked as she sat down on Gaara's bed, trying to calm herself, but every time she looked over at Sasuke, she couldn't help but laugh. In response, he huffed and looked away, but she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Hinata and I went out shopping together," Ino told them all as the two girls stood up with a few boxes in their hands, "and we both decided to put our money together and buy you a new outfit!"

Gaara felt like groaning. Sakura didn't need any more clothes!

Accepting the first box, Sakura lifted the lid and picked up the dress, a soft smile on her lips. It was long–sleeved and it warmed her heart how they had remembered her unease of having her scars on show. There was a black lacy pattern down the centre of the white dress and it was made to make the body appear more curvaceous. It was quite short, but Sakura didn't mind. It was like there was a mixture of Hinata and Ino in the dress. The high neckline and long–sleeves being Hinata's idea and the shortness of the dress and the fact it made you appear more appealing being Ino's idea.

Lowering the dress into the box, Sakura accepted the next one, a grin brightening up her face. Shoes! Oh she did love Ino sometimes. The girl had such great taste in shoes. They were four inches high and matched her dress perfectly! In the next box was a bag to go with it.

"Thank you." Sakura told them genuinely. "The outfit is beautiful."

"I know, right?" Ino smirked and flicked her hair over her shoulder, obviously proud of herself. From behind her, Naruto and Sasuke rolled their eyes (whilst Gaara inwardly rolled his).

Hinata smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Sakura–san."

"And now for your present from your favourite–"

"If you say 'my favourite guy in the world', you're wrong, Shisui." Sakura smirked. "My favourite guy is Jared Leto."

Shisui sighed. "I blame you for that obsession, Itachi."

Nodding in agreement, Sasuke said, "It was you who told her about the band."

"They're a great band!" Sakura snapped defensively.

"Sure." Shisui continued to smirk, but then handed over the gift. "It's not much, but I saw it one day and thought of you."

As she opened it, Sakura couldn't help but smile. It was a rather large smile and a second later, she was shrieking. "You're right. You may be my favourite person right now." Her voice was wavering slightly as she held the case in her hands. "A _signed_ CD?"

"All of their signatures." he grinned. "Jared's, Shannon's and Tomo's."

Nobody could hold back their smiles (or smirks) as Sakura grinned happily. A CD signed by Thirty Seconds to Mars! What more could a girl ask for?

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, once everyone had left, Temari and Kankuro arrived. Temari smiled at Sakura, though she apologized for only getting her vouchers. Sakura tried to tell the blonde that it was fine, that it was actually one of her favourite stores, but she had still seemed annoyed with herself for not getting anything special, especially as she glanced at the pile of gifts stacked up neatly on the dresser.<p>

Kankuro opened his jacket. "Oh, Gaara. Before I forget, something came for you this morning. I thought it would be important since I had to sign for it."

They were all surprised when he smirked, accepting the envelope from Kankuro and handing it straight to Sakura.

"What is it?" she asked, smiling nervously.

"Your birthday present."

And as she opened it, several nurses came bursting into the room, wondering what was happening and why somebody was screaming. They were all annoyed with the group as they saw Sakura looking down at the items in her hands, as they reminded them all that this was a hospital. Sakura didn't care.

Leaning forward and not caring about Temari and Kankuro being in the room, she kissed Gaara. However, she pulled away a few moments later, too happy to even concentrate on anything except for what was in her hands.

Kankuro laughed. "What did you do? Buy her tickets for that band?"

"_Yes_!" Sakura nodded quickly. "Not only tickets, but backstage passes so I can meet them, too! I didn't even know that they were on tour." Once again kissing Gaara, she couldn't help but say, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

He merely smiled. "Happy birthday, Sakura."

"These must have cost you so much! You didn't have to buy them for me."

Despite her words, he could see how happy they had made her and it seemed like her mind was well and truly not focusing on Kabuto and Zaku. It was exactly what he had wanted. "It doesn't matter." He had more money than he needed, anyway. "The concert is at the end of summer."

Plenty of time for her to get ready! Sakura grinned brightly. "And you'll be pretty much completely healed by then! You're going to love them live, Gaara! The acoustic version of–"

"I won't be going with you."

Her smile slipped away as she looked up at him, frowning. "B–But there are enough tickets for you to come with me! I_ want _you to."

"This is something that you share with Itachi."

This time, when she kissed him, it was slower and softer and noticing the feeling in the air grow more serious, Temari dragged Kankuro out of the room, ignoring him as he muttered something about "seriously needing those tips".

"I really want you to come with me." she whispered against his lips. "It'll be fun!"

"Are you sure?"

Sakura grinned and kissed him again. "Definitely. But," her smile grew impish as she pulled back slightly, "just a bit of a warning, I can get pretty crazy. And that's _before_ I go into the mosh pits!"

Oh that was definitely a sight he wanted to see. Sakura shoving men around like they were nothing. It would no doubt be hilarious.

"Okay." he told her after she gave him another kiss. "I will go with you."

"Good!" Sakura told him, carefully putting the tickets back into the envelope and placing them on his beside table. "Because it wasn't an option! I would have dragged you there if I had to."

Gaara couldn't help but smirk as Sakura shifted closer, sitting comfortably between his legs as she captured his lips.

However, just as things began to heat up, they were once again interrupted.

This time, by her parents.

Sakura sighed as she pulled away, looking over her shoulder at her parents before turning fully around. "Hey."

"You don't have to sound so disappointed to see us." her mother grumbled before grinning. "Happy birthday, sweetie!" Mebuki told her as she moved forward, pulling Sakura into her arms. Once she had, she whispered, "I tried to talk your father out of this idea, but–"

"Don't start whispering about me." Kazashi huffed and hearing him, Mebuki sighed and pulled away so that he could hug his daughter. "Happy birthday, kicker." As he stood up straight again, he nodded once to Gaara, making Sakura clench her fists at their once again silent greeting. "Gaara, you don't mind if Mebuki and I take Sakura away for the night, do you?"

Before he even had the chance to reply, Sakura's eyes widened and she moved backwards, closer to Gaara. "I–I don't want to leave!"

"Please, Sakura." Kazashi frowned. "It's your eighteenth birthday and we want to take you out for a meal! Gaara would be invited, but we just spoke with his doctor and he is not allowed to leave yet."

"What your father means is that he bullied the poor man until Temari–san stepped in and gave him the information!" Gaara couldn't help but smirk. Then, Mebuki gave Sakura a pleading look. "It will only be for the night, Sakura. I promise that, first thing in the morning, I will bring you straight back here."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "You want her to stay at home? After everything that has happened there?"

This seemed to make Mebuki pause and for a moment, a look of horror filled her eyes as she remembered the state her home had been in. No, it hadn't been what her home looked like that upset her. It had been the fact that such an awful thing had happened in there. There had… There had been blood all over the living room floor and wall! Actually, the living room had been pretty much destroyed. "We've had decorators fix it up." Mebuki told them both. "Yes, we know that it won't erase what happened, but…" she sighed, knowing that what she was about to say wouldn't be exactly fair. "Ao has been whining for you, Sakura. He's scared and he wants his owner, his friend."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes. "Ao…" How could she have forgotten about him? No, she hadn't forgotten entirely about him since he had saved her life, it was just that she had been so worried about Gaara! Looking up at her parents, Sakura nodded shakily. "Okay."

* * *

><p>The meal had been nice as her parents had taken her to her favourite restaurant. Sakura had dressed up in the outfit that Ino and Hinata had bought for her and wore the necklace Itachi and Sasuke gave to her to go with it. When Mebuki recognised the necklace, she had gone a bit teary eyed, remembering her best friend, but soon gave Sakura a smile, telling her that the boys were right. Mikoto had always wanted to give Sakura the necklace.<p>

Later that night, when they returned to their home, it had taken Sakura a while to actually enter. Part of her was scared about Kabuto, wondering if he was still hiding in her bedroom somewhere, but Ao eased her mind a lot. He had been so excited to see her again! For ten whole minutes, Sakura had been pinned to the ground and was helpless against Ao as he licked her face and nipped at her hands.

And now, laying in bed, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, forcing herself to stay calm as Ao rested his head on her stomach protectively and offering her comfort. They had always been connected like that, after all.

However, as a uneasy feeling filled the air, her breath left her.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and over to the figure standing in the doorway of her bathroom, the darkness of her room seeming to make him much more imposing than ever.

"Not real." she whispered, but couldn't help how her eyes widened.

The figure began to walk towards her, making her shuffle up her bed in a sad attempt to get away from him and when her back hit the headboard of her bed, Sakura let out a quivering sob.

"Not real!" Sakura cried, her hands coming to her head and covering her ears.

Ao whined beside her as he nudged her side, but Sakura couldn't hear or see him. All she could see was the figure who was now standing at the bottom of her bed. She didn't even dare look up at his face.

"Not real!" she sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut.

Her bed dipped near the bottom and in response, her heart started beating erratically, her breathing quickened, her sobs grew louder and her tears fell faster. And finally, when Sakura felt her bed stop moving, thinking it was finally over, her eyes opened and she looked up.

Only to meet the eyes of Yakushi Kabuto no more than a mere inch away from her.

"_Not real_!" Sakura screamed hysterically, her hands fisting in her hair as she closed in on herself. "_Not real. Not real!"_

Ao barked loudly and kept bumping into her side, trying to get her attention, but nothing would work. She was too scared. It wasn't until a hand grabbed her arm that she finally reacted, screaming desperately as she tried to get away, but they wouldn't let her and instead held on tighter.

"Not real." Sakura whimpered through her tears, trembling almost violently. "Not real!"

"Not real."

At the voice, her eyes snapped up to see her mother's face. She looked terrified as she climbed into Sakura's bed and pulled her against her chest, holding her tightly. Sakura only vaguely noticed her father standing in the doorway as she wrapped her arms around her mother, still sobbing and still shaking. By her side, Ao leaned up against her, silently telling her that he was there, too.

"It's not real, Sakura." Mebuki whispered and tightened her hold. It was easy to ignore how tightly Sakura was holding her as she felt how badly her daughter was shaking and Mebuki didn't care that she would have bruises in the morning. Perhaps asking her to stay in the house had been much too soon for her. "It's okay. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you." Ao barked. "And neither will Ao. He saved you already, remember?"

Sakura nodded shakily, one of her hands slowly releasing her mother so that she could reach out for Ao. He nipped her hand softly, as though he was trying to make sure she was really okay, before he slumped down at her side with Sakura's hand resting on his head as she petted him.

"I need to see him."

Mebuki looked down at Sakura with confusion as she pulled away slightly. "Who? Gaara–kun? It's quite late, Sakura. Would you like me to drive you to the hosp–"

"No." she shook her head, interrupting her mother. "Kabuto. I need to see Kabuto."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I'm sure I've already said something about OCs. I know I had quite a few in the last chapter of my ItaSaku (**_You Make Me Feel_**) story, but like I said, they were in the last chapter! Some people have their OCs completely taking over the story until it's more like that OC with (for example) Gaara. They completely shoved Sakura out like she was the one who was an OC! Oh and don't even get me started on the fact that most OCs are all ridiculously overpowered. My friend once said something along the lines of "you're not in the show, so you shouldn't be a main character in the story" and I completely agree with her!**

**Ugh. Anyways. I hope you're all okay! I've been sat up all night waiting for the next Naruto chapter, even though it's always posted about midday where I'm from.**

**For any ItaSaku fans, I posted another story for that pairing called** _Bruised, Broken & Healed_**! Please check it out if you have the time! :-)**_  
><em>

**Only four chapters to go! I'm kind of sad that it's ending.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	67. Demons Of Our Past

**Chapter**** 67 ****– Demons Of Our Past**

To say Gaara that was not pleased with her would be an understatement. He wasn't the only one, either. Her parents, the Sabaku siblings and the Uchiha family were also not happy. _At all_. Sakura didn't even dare to find out if Naruto knew or not. Although considering he hadn't practically knocked her down and demanded answers from her, Sakura was guessing that he didn't know. Perhaps keeping him in the dark would be best.

It had been a month since her decision to go and see Kabuto, but Sakura was still trying to prepare herself to _actually _see him. Not only that, but she needed Gaara by her side. He agreed. Really, Gaara didn't give her much of a choice and even if Sakura felt as though she didn't need him, he was still going with her. In return, Sakura promised that she would go to Konoha Psychiatric Hospital with him once he was ready to visit Yashamaru. However, she had warned him that if she was to go there, Tsunade would have to be there, too. Not in the room with them, but close by just in case Sakura needed the woman.

The finals were coming. Was it strange that they felt like one of the most important things to her right now? Instead of procrastinating, Sakura actually sat down and studied hard. On subjects she struggled with due to missing so much school, Itachi tutored her when he had the time and if he didn't, Gaara did. Although Sakura wouldn't tell Gaara, she preferred having Itachi tutor her. No, it wasn't that one was a better teacher than the other, it was just that Itachi had always been the one she went to for extra help and it made her feel a little on the slow side having her boyfriend tutor her.

Another reason why she was focusing so hard on her exams was because it took her mind off of everything else. Studying for the exams demanded her absolute attention because otherwise, she would fail. That was not an option! She used to be one of the smartest kids in school, damn it. Sakura was determined to reclaim that title even if it meant having sleepless nights and sore eyes.

Great. She was beginning to sound like her gym teacher, Gai.

Oh well. Even though it wasn't physical education, he would be proud of her for her determination.

Gaara was also serious about the exams, too, because even though he had pretty much secured his place as Vice President of Sabaku Corporation, he still needed great grades. Apparently his father had been a little like Sasuke and Itachi's father (except for all the years of beating and bullying Gaara).

Placing down her pen, Sakura sighed and shook her hand. She had been writing for hours!

During the past month, despite having all the evidence they needed to make the arrest, the police were still hoping for more. Not only that, but they needed leads. Orochimaru was still on the loose, as were his men. It seemed that one of the six who had been arrested ratted out Orochimaru, telling Shisui and his men where some of his hideouts were. However, every time they reached a new place, it was always vacant and burned to the ground. Orochimaru was covering his tracks well.

It was because of this that Gaara had handed over the letter from his father.

And it had pained Sakura so much to see him do so because she knew how private it was. She knew how much that letter meant to him. Whilst he was recovering, Gaara had once again asked her to read it and it was safe to say that she had cried. _A lot_. And even though Gaara hadn't been crying, she had held him as tightly as she could without hurting him.

When Shisui had turned up for the letter – as Gaara had been on strict bed rest – and read it to make sure that it would definitely help them, he had promised Gaara that he would take care of it. Not only that, but he would photocopy it too so that when the investigation was over, Gaara could have the original letter back. Sakura had been able to tell by the way his fist slowly unclenched that he was relieved to hear that. It wasn't the letter that mattered so much to him, it was the words. It was his father's apology, his mother's love.

Also, because of her panic attack, Sakura had been staying with Gaara for the past month. She just couldn't be in that house. The morning after telling her mother that she needed to see Kabuto, Sakura had been walking by the living room when she had had an awful flashback. She had been frozen in her place, so certain that she had heard a gun being fired as well as the sounds of yelling, of barking and fighting. Sakura had been too scared to even move.

That night, Mebuki spoke with Temari and the blonde had been more than willing to have Sakura stay with them until she felt ready. They all knew that there was a chance she never would be and it made Sakura feel like a burden. To try and ease that feeling, if only by a little amount, she did whatever she could around the Sabaku house. Hell, Sakura had even attempted to cook one time, but had decided against it right at the last moment. She wanted to thank Temari for allowing her to stay, not poison her.

Once his doctor was certain Gaara would be okay to go home, the redhead had been discharged.

Sakura noticed that it wasn't only her who had nightmares.

Gaara's weren't as obvious as hers, but one night, when she had been unable to sleep, Sakura had noticed how tense he was, had seen the scowl on his face and not long after that, he had flinched and called out her name in a whisper. It was a whisper filled with so much worry, fear and pain that it hurt her. To tell him that she was there, Sakura snuggled against him, whispering soft words of love and comfort in his ear. It had taken a while, but he eventually managed to relax.

Hearing the door open, Sakura glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Temari.

"Are you ready?"

The words made her tense ever so slightly, but she quickly nodded, her revision long forgotten as she stood up and away from the desk.

Today, they were going to visit Yashamaru.

Was it strange that Sakura felt more prepared to visit her rapist rather than Gaara's childhood tormentor?

"Sakura," Temari's voice softened slightly as she looked down at Sakura the moment the younger girl came to a stop in front of her, "thank you for doing this for my brother. It can't be easy."

"Is he…" Sakura frowned and fought the urge to fidget. "Is Yashamaru violent or…?"

Temari and Kankuro had gone to visit Yashamaru the other week, but since Gaara hadn't truly made his mind up until last week, he hadn't wanted to hear a thing about the man. Respecting his decision, neither did Sakura. However right now, Sakura needed to know what to expect. Gaara still wasn't fully healed. His cast was due to be removed in two weeks and he still needed more therapy with his shoulder. It wasn't too badly damaged, but it was stiff and often caused him pain, although Gaara tried his best to hide it.

For a couple of seconds, there was silence. "He's different." she said slowly, her eyebrows knitting together. "Still looks a hell of a lot like our mother, but it's mentally that he's changed." Sakura nodded, knowing how a place like that could change a person – and not always for the better. "There were some bitter remarks, a snide comment here and there, but other than that, no. Yashamaru wasn't violent towards us. I'm not sure how he'll react to Gaara, though. During our entire visit, Yashamaru didn't mention him once and ignored us when we said anything about him."

Was that out of guilt, or hate?

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura nodded more firmly. If Yashamaru even dared to try and hurt Gaara…

Well, she would just have to show him why they kept her locked away in solitary confinement whilst there, wouldn't she?

Behind Temari, the door opened more fully, revealing Gaara. He had been tense all day, his emotions more fiercely guarded. Sakura tried her best not to let it get to her, because it wasn't _her _he was hiding them from. Actually, Gaara wasn't hiding them from her _or _his siblings. He was preparing himself to face Yashamaru.

"I'm ready." Sakura gave him a soft smile, stomping back the uncertainty she felt. She wouldn't allow Gaara to see how scared she truly was at going back to the hospital. He needed to do this. To put what Yashamaru had done to him in the past, he had to do this. Just like she had to face Kabuto one last time.

He nodded once and left the room, leaving Sakura as she exchanged one last look with Temari, who silently wished her luck, before following him.

Just as they were about to open the front door, however, Sakura grabbed Gaara's uninjured hand and turned him to face her. He frowned as he did, but the moment her lips softly brushed against his, Gaara relaxed ever so slightly and sighed.

The drive was silent and because Gaara couldn't use his right arm, it was Sakura who drove. He didn't like her driving. It was too fast and she had awful road rage. Despite this, Gaara didn't say a word, watching her as she sang to the radio. It became obvious as they neared the hospital that she was scared as not only did her grip on the steering wheel tighten, but she turned the music up a little.

She probably wasn't aware of it, but Gaara was extremely grateful for what she was doing for him. Ever since he returned from the hospital, Sakura took care of him, though she also gave him his own space. She bathed with him, she cleaned up after both herself and him (despite hating every moment of cleaning) and she even helped with his nightmares.

However, even though they bathed together, nothing more than tender kisses were shared. Sakura had not made a hint or tried to push things a little further. In fact, the last time things heated up, he had still been in the hospital. Even though, at one point, Gaara had been confused and wondered if he had maybe done something wrong, he had caught the flash in her eyes. She wanted him to make love to her, but she was wary. Wary of what, he wasn't too sure yet. Yes, he missed the sex and the feeling of her lips and body brushing against his, but he was willing to wait for her until she felt ready. He would not push her.

Besides, with the way his arm and shoulder ached if he put too much weight on it, he wasn't too sure if he could make love to her. Well, unless they were in a position where he wouldn't have to hold his weight up.

Those certain thoughts were shoved from his mind as they came to a stop outside of Konoha Psychiatric Hospital.

"Have you ever been here before?" Sakura asked softly, her eyes glued on the entrance.

He had seen it a few times before. It had been back as a child. However, that had been the children's ward. He hadn't been on the teenager or adult's one. "The children's ward."

Her eyes snapped to his face and she frowned in confusion. "Really?"

Why did she sound so surprised? His anger had hardly been healthy and add the fact that he was an insomniac to the mix…

"Yes. They thought once that I was mentally ill and they believed that _that _was why I was so angry all of the time. I only stayed there for a couple of weeks until they told my father that I was mentally stable. Well, I didn't have any mental illnesses, only anger issues that anger management should help." his eyes narrowed a fraction. "My father never sent me to those sessions. He called them a waste of time."

Sakura's eyes slid back over to the entrance of the the hospital as she pulled her keys from the ignition, the music immediately being switched off as she did so. The silence was almost deafening as she breathed deeply.

"Sakura–"

"Let's go." she cut him off, flashing him a bright smile before she was climbing out of the car.

Gaara frowned to himself as he had to turn awkwardly and use his left hand to open the door. It angered him that he had to rely on others to help him, but as those thoughts entered his mind, Gaara would look up at Sakura. She was the reason why he had done what he did. It was because of that that she was alive right now. So what if he was in pain? Physical pain was nothing and he would rather experience that instead of having to experience the pain of losing her.

"Sakura." a voice barked. "Gaara."

Once the car was locked and Sakura was standing by Gaara's side, they looked up to see a blonde standing not too far from them. Her posture and aura screamed that everyone else was beneath her and it made her appear much more intimidating, especially since her eyes were hard and serious as she assessed Sakura.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Sakura?" Tsunade asked and Gaara knew for a fact that there was concern in her tone, even though she looked as stern as ever. "This place–"

"I'm fine." Sakura replied, her fingers entwining with Gaara's. It was done selfishly, so that she could remind herself that she wasn't staying there, that Gaara would not leave her in that place like her parents had. Glancing up at him, she gave him a small smile. "Are _you _ready?"

When Gaara nodded once, Tsunade sighed. "Very well. If you feel for even a moment that you need to take a break, you had better tell me, Sakura. I will not have you stressing yourself out or pushing yourself too hard. Is that understood?"

And after nodding in understanding, they were entering the hospital. Sakura tried her hardest not to show her fear, tried her best to smile politely at the receptionist as they all signed in and removed any possible weapons from their persons, but Gaara noticed the tension in her shoulders. He could tell by the way her eyes kept darting around, looking cautiously around them, that she was scared.

"I won't leave you here." he told her quietly as Tsunade spoke with the receptionist. His voice was low enough so only Sakura could hear him and in response to hearing his voice, she relaxed slightly and her eyes locked with his. "I promise you, Sakura."

They were only at the reception area and already Gaara could partly understand why Sakura hated it here. There was no life at all within the walls. Everything was white and pristine. There wasn't a single thing out of place. Even the message board and desk were neat and orderly – completely uncluttered and not even a pen was left laying around. In other words, it was utterly depressing and he had only been there for a few minutes. Not to mention they were only in the reception and waiting area. What the hell was the rest of this drab place like?

As they began walking down a deathly silent corridor, Sakura didn't release his hand for a moment. If anything, she held on tighter. No matter how much her eyes shifted from side to side, no matter how hard her heart was pounding, however, she didn't complain once. And Gaara couldn't help but wonder what he had done to deserve a girl like Haruno Sakura.

"Your uncle is behind this door, Gaara." Tsunade told him, eyeing the pair of them with hidden wariness. "Are you both sure that you are ready to do this?"

Gaara didn't need to open his mouth as Sakura spoke for the both of them. "We've come too far to give up now."

Her words didn't comfort Tsunade and honestly, Gaara wasn't surprised by that. Sakura hands were now both holding onto his left, uninjured hand and they were trembling slightly. He wondered what she was seeing or remembering.

"I will be close by." the blonde told them as she knocked twice on the door. "If you would rather have me in the room, however, tell me now."

Sakura looked up at Gaara, her eyebrows knitting together for a moment as she tried to read his emotions. She couldn't. Like earlier that day, they were still being fiercely guarded. "No." Sakura answered after a couple of moments just as the door began to open. "We can do this. Right, Gaara?"

He nodded once.

"Very well." she sighed, stepping back as the door opened fully. "Good luck."

They entered the room together and Sakura felt Gaara tense as his eyes landed on Yashamaru, though he didn't pause for a moment as he walked forward towards the table. Like everywhere else in the hospital, the room was white and there was only a small window on the far wall, the bars shielding it obscuring the view slightly. It wouldn't have been much of a view, anyway. It was simply the car park. Nothing more, nothing less.

As Sakura and Gaara sat down, the former refrained from fidgeting as violet eyes snapped to hers and under the table, Sakura tightened her hold on Gaara. In response to the look Yashamaru was giving her, Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"One of our own." Yashamaru commented, his voice just as soft as Gaara remembered. His eyes were still on Sakura as he spoke again, watching the shift in her eyes. "It amazes me that you actually came back. Most patients fight hard to forget about their time here. They never come back willingly."

This time, it was Sakura's eyes that narrowed. "And you? If you ever got out of this place, would you try hard to forget?"

He gave a gentle smirk. "It is not so bad."

"That's because you're here _voluntarily_." Sakura snapped before she could stop herself.

"Ah, so I was right. May I ask why you–"

"No." Gaara interrupted him. "You may _not_."

Something flashed in Yashamaru's eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Sakura to be able to tell what it was. Then slowly, he turned to face his youngest nephew, regarding him silently for a couple of minutes and the tension in the air felt as though it was suffocating Sakura – certainly not helping with the panic she had been feeling already.

"You're injured, Gaara–sama."

Sakura's eyes widened. Gaara–_sama_?

"You're very observant." he said in return, his hand tightening around Sakura's for a second before he forced himself to relax.

Tilting his head to the side, he gave a smile. "Your eyes are different. You finally received medicine."

Gaara's eyes were impossibly wide as he stared at his uncle, unable to form a single word to pass his lips and Sakura could do nothing more than stare at him, wondering what was wrong with him. Yes, he had received medicine, but why was that such a–

Oh.

_Oh!_

Medicine for his broken heart. Love.

Turning back to Yashamaru, Sakura rubbed her thumb over Gaara's hand gently. "Yes, he has."

"I'm glad."

"Why?" Gaara snarled suddenly, his features darkening with rage. "After all these years, after everything you said to me–"

"I could not be the one to give you medicine, Gaara–sama." Yashamaru interrupted him. "I loved your mother, my sister, with all my heart and the loss of her crushed me."

Sakura's upper lip curled. "His mother's death wasn't Gaara's fault!"

He nodded once, another gentle smile pulling at his lips. "I know that now. Back then, even though it had been seven years since her death, I was still overwhelmed by grief and pain. People handle their grief in different ways. Some are angry, some are sad and heartbroken, whilst others are left feeling bitter. Many different thoughts went through my mind and at the time, I couldn't make sense of any of them." he sighed, glancing down at the space in between them. "I had rowed with your father that night, Gaara–sama. I asked him to send you to a boarding school, telling him that it was too hard for me to look at you without seeing Karura, but he refused to acknowledge my request."

When he grew silent, Sakura frowned, looking up at Gaara and back at Yashamaru. "But… Temari looks so much more like Karura–san than Gaara does."

"I know." Yashamaru replied quietly. "But it was her death that I kept seeing." Once again, there was silence as he looked back at his nephew. Like Gaara, his eyes were guarded, but Sakura could see the torn emotions in his eyes. She could see the love he felt for Gaara, but she could also see his grief and sorrow. "I am sure that, by now, you have been given your mother's final photo album?" Something twitched in Gaara's features before he nodded once. "I was the one to take that final picture, Gaara–sama."

Sakura lowered her eyes to the table. Like the letter, she had also seen the photo album. She knew exactly what picture they were talking about – the one where Karura was holding Gaara right before she died. The picture had broken her heart, but she stayed strong for Gaara and refused to cry. Instead, she told him that his mother had been beautiful (because it was the truth) and that he was so adorable as a baby. He, of course, rolled his eyes at her and muttered something about not being adorable.

"It broke my heart." Yashamaru whispered. "It broke it beyond repair. Your mother, she…" he frowned. "She wanted you to have that picture. It was her way of saying 'even though I may not be around, I will forever be in your heart. I will protect you'."

No matter how hard she tried, Sakura couldn't force back the tears that were filling her eyes.

The man gave a small smile. "Gaara–sama, it seems your friend…"

"Sakura." she whispered with a shaky chuckle, using her free hand to wipe her eyes. "My name's Haruno Sakura and I'm not his friend. I'm his girlfriend."

One of the orderlies behind her tensed, capturing all of their attention.

"You know of Sakura–san, Arata–san?" Yashamaru asked as Sakura and Gaara turned to face the man.

To her, his face seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't understand why. Yes, he worked in the hospital and yes, she had been here before as a patient, but she had never been in the adult ward before today. It wasn't allowed. However, his brown hair and dark eyes stood out to her for some reason. He didn't appear to be that old. In fact, he looked around Kakashi's age. Then again, he was apparently older than he looked, so she couldn't really use him as an example.

Arata shook his head. "Not personally, but I was one of the many guards to watch over Sakura–san."

Her eyes widened.

_And it was when she took an unsteady step towards her mother that the orderlies moved forward. However, unlike the first day when they had needed two of them and were rough, it was only one man and he made sure to be careful as he sedated Sakura and gently placed her back into her bed before giving Mebuki a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave, Haruno–san."_

"You were the only one who was truly kind to me." she whispered. "The others had all given up on me by then, but not you."

Gaara looked up at the man, his eyebrows knitting together. Should he thank the man?

"Thank you, Arata–san." Sakura told him sincerely.

He gave her a soft smile. "You don't need to thank me."

"I do!" she argued quietly. "The others had all given up on me! Even my first psychiatrist had! Only you and Tsunade–sama truly looked out for me. Even when I was screaming threats at you all and hurting people, you still stayed by my side. That means a lot to me. Thank you."

His eyes and smile warmed. "I'm glad that you no longer need to stay here, Sakura–san."

He wasn't the only one.

It didn't even look as though Yashamaru was all that surprised to hear that she had screamed at and attacked people. In fact, it was as though he had assumed it. Sakura didn't take any offence to that. Here, it wasn't all that strange to have or see people doing such things. Part of her wondered if Yashamaru had to fight in order to protect himself when another patient was on a rampage, whilst another part of her hoped that he hadn't and would never have to. Sometimes, it took orderlies a couple of minutes to actually manage to split up a fight, depending on how strong the patient was. Sometimes, fights went way too far. She should know, for she had been on the receiving end of those kinds of fights.

"You seem happy now."

Sakura smiled brightly, only vaguely noticing how stunned Arata seemed by her smile. Hadn't she ever smiled around him before? Probably not, considering where they were. "I am!"

"Good." he smiled in return.

* * *

><p>The rest of the visit had been mostly pleasant. Like Temari had warned her, there were a few bitter remarks, but they weren't as bad as she had thought they would be. It seemed as though Yashamaru had truly learned that his sister's death was not Gaara's fault. And when they had left the hospital, Sakura had seen the way Gaara sighed, like it had felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.<p>

She couldn't help but kiss him.

Now, it was her turn to deal with the demon of her past. Obviously not today, as it would be way too much for her, but it _was_ her turn next.

So now, here they were. Well, here she was. Gaara was currently in a meeting with Temari and the company whilst she was sat in the living room with Kankuro. He had been telling her about a new game he had bought for his x–box.

"So," Sakura narrowed her eyes, looking down at the controller in her hands, "all I do, is shoot?"

Kankuro grinned and nodded once. "Yeah. And don't die."

Sounded simple enough, right?

* * *

><p>It was an hour later when Gaara and Temari returned to the sound of shouting.<p>

"Ha!" Sakura yelled as she shot yet another zombie, but suddenly, her character was being savagely ripped apart by them. "No! _No._ _Fuck you_!"

When they entered the living room, both looking quite startled, it only added to their shock to see Sakura sat on the ground in front of the television, pressing buttons on the controller madly whilst Kankuro was laughing into one of the cushions. He was holding his stomach and even though the sounds were muffled, his laughter was still obvious.

"Kankuro!" she yelled at him, not tearing her wide eyes from the screen for even a second. "What are you doing? _Help me_! They're–" Sakura was cut off by the game over screen and when she spoke again, her voice was much calmer, but her annoyance was obvious. "You dick. I helped _you_."

But Kankuro was too busy laughing to even answer.

"Sakura?"

Her eyes widened as she turned to face Gaara and Temari and seeing the amusement in their eyes, she couldn't help but blush. "I, uh," she scratched her head, smiling sheepishly, "I don't like losing."

That only made Kankuro laugh harder.

"You… You…" his laughter increased, his face turning red. "Oh man!"

Sakura pouted. "It's not that funny."

"It kind of is." Temari smirked.

"Whatever." she tried to keep her pout, but they could all see the smile tugging at her lips and the mirth in her eyes. "So how did the meeting go?"

Entering the living room fully, Temari dumped her bag onto the ground and fell back onto one of the sofas, the air leaving her lungs forcefully with an aggravated sounding sigh. As she did, Gaara sat down beside Kankuro, looking at him strangely as his older brother tried to control his laughter, but whenever he glanced over at Sakura, he would just start laughing again. There were even tears in his eyes!

"Not too bad." Temari groaned with annoyance and sat up, pulling her heels off and rubbing her sore feet. "But those moody old bastards want everything to be 'perfect' for when Gaara joins the company. They don't want to risk anything considering how young he is." Her eyes slid over to Gaara's, still narrowed and annoyed but he could see that she wasn't annoyed with him. "Don't worry about them too much, Gaara. When they see how much of a genius you are, they'll understand why our father wanted you to have the business instead of me."

There was no jealousy in her tone as she told him about their father not wanting her to have the company. There was only understanding and… relief? It honestly wouldn't surprise the others if Temari felt relieved to no longer be the president of such a large company. It was stressful and tired her out greatly. Temari had even told her youngest brother before that she couldn't wait to be rid of the company.

"How about we order out tonight?" Temari grumbled as she grabbed her heels and bag and stood up.

Now that he had calmed down, Kankuro rolled his eyes. "We're _always _ordering out. Your cooking is worse than Sakura's."

Sakura's mouth dropped open in a mixture of shock and disbelief. She had once tried making herself something to eat whilst Temari and Gaara had been out and Kankuro had returned from his morning jog just in time to stop her from burning the house down. "It's not even that bad!" she snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "I can–"

"You can't even make toast without burning it."

Her anger left her like somebody had popped a balloon.

"And you're saying that I can't either?" a voice asked dangerously, making Kankuro tense as he heard the anger in his sister's voice. "After all, you said that my cooking is worse than Sakura's."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like–"

"Idiot!" she yelled, hitting him around the head. "For that, you can do the washing up tonight!"

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, once Gaara had had his cast removed, Sakura found herself standing in front of Konoha Prison with Gaara by her side. Like when they had gone to visit Yashamaru, Tsunade was also there, as was Shisui. They were inside, though. The latter was there because he was working today and wanted to keep a close eye on Kabuto in case he tried anything. Gaara hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before and was in quite a foul mood, so Sakura honestly dared Kabuto to try something. It would be stupid of him and downright suicidal.<p>

Grabbing his left hand, Sakura made her way over to the entrance. Even though his cast was off his right wrist, his shoulder still caused him pain and Sakura wasn't going to risk hurting him if she pulled on his hand too hard or something of the sort.

Just like they had both thought, Tsunade and Shisui were both waiting for them. They both stood tall and proud, their expressions stern and blank all at the same time. Due to him being on duty, Shisui couldn't clown around like he often did with her, so instead he gave a single nod and a small smile before growing serious. Tsunade, on the other hand, merely narrowed her eyes.

"I still think you're foolish to put yourself through this, Sakura."

"I can barely even sleep at night, Tsunade–sama." Sakura replied without missing a beat, her own eyes narrowing a fraction. It was rare when Sakura stood up to Tsunade, as the woman often terrified her, but right now, she knew she had to stand her ground. "I need to see him to make sure that he's really here, to know for certain that he's not coming back for me."

She needed closure.

Sighing very much like she had done the day they went to visit Yashamaru, Tsunade nodded once, but it was Shisui who spoke. "We weren't sure if you would prefer to sit in a large hall filled with others who are on remand, but the only other option would be to sit in a much smaller room." Sakura's eyes widened and she tightened her hold on Gaara's hand, obviously not liking that option at all. "Tsunade–sama told us, rather bluntly, that we would be stupid to put you in a small room with Yakushi. So instead you will be visiting him when the others are being visited, too."

She nodded. Being around other prisoners would no doubt be terrifying, but at least she wouldn't be locked in a small room with the man who had raped her. A shiver of fear ran up her spine at just the thought.

"Also," Shisui paused for a moment, his eyes serious as he regarded Sakura, "Zaku is here. If you want to visit him, too, then you will have to tell me now so that it can be arranged."

Was it strange that Zaku no longer scared her? Well, not as much as he used to, anyway. It didn't even make sense in her own mind, but for some reason, when she had spoken to him the night he and the others had broken in to her house and attacked her and Gaara, that kind of felt like closure. Sakura inwardly sighed. Yes, it _did_ sound strange. Stupid, actually. However, that didn't change the fact that _that_ was how she felt.

"No." she answered with a shake of her head. "I don't need to see Zaku."

They had to go through some sort of identification before entering the visiting hall, but that only vaguely registered in Sakura's mind as she handed over her passport and put her bag and other belongings into a locker. Due to not carrying much on him, Gaara put his things with Sakura's. Tsunade and Shisui stayed close by, but the moment they entered the hall, they came to a stop near the doors.

"We'll stay here." Tsunade told her when Sakura and Gaara paused, throwing confused looks over their shoulders. "If you need us, just throw your hand up in the air or do something similar to catch our attention."

"We will be watching closely." Shisui added, giving her another small smile.

It did little to comfort her, but instead of showing it, Sakura nodded quickly before turning back around and walking with Gaara towards the table they had been placed at. It wasn't too far from the exit, yet it wasn't too close, either. At the moment, the visitors were all piling into the room, taking their seats at their tables and waiting for those they were visiting to come out.

Sakura looked around herself warily. How many of these women were here to see their lovers? Or how many of these women were like her, wanting to see their attackers for closure? Considering the excited look in most of their eyes, Sakura was willing to bet that none of them were there for the same reason as she was. Of course there weren't only women there, but the majority of the visitors were women and most of them were dressed in their nicest outfits, obviously dressed to impress. Sakura herself wasn't dressed in such a way. She was wearing jeans, a baggy sweatshirt and ugg boots. Her hair wasn't styled perfectly like the other women had done with theirs – it was pulled back in a high ponytail with only her bangs down and framing the sides of her face like they always did. Her face wasn't so made up with makeup that she looked like either a porcelain doll or a drag queen. In fact, she wasn't wearing any makeup at all.

Her injuries had all healed by now, but it was obvious that she was still being bothered by sleepless nights. No, the dark circles around her eyes weren't as dark as Gaara's (nowhere close) but they were still obvious.

And then the prisoners were entering the room.

She tried her best to hide her unease as a familiar head of silver–grey hair entered the hall, but she couldn't help but tense as Kabuto's dark eyes locked with hers. He seemed a little surprised at seeing her, but it didn't show for long as he made his way over to her and Gaara, smirking to himself as he did so. They didn't fail to notice how he was limping. It seemed Ao had done some pretty serious damage to Kabuto's leg. Good.

He didn't even give them a chance to speak as he sat down opposite them, smirking rather nastily at Gaara. "I see you survived, Gaara–kun." His comment went ignored. Sighing, Kabuto turned to face Sakura, tilting his head to the side when she stared back with guarded, yet scared eyes. "Not that I am against you coming to visit me, but why are you here?"

Silence.

Sakura could not find her voice.

Her mouth opened to say something, to say anything, but no words would leave her lips.

However, as Kabuto once again sighed and was about to say more, she cut him off.

"Why me?"

Kabuto tilted his head to the side again and regarded Sakura silently for a moment, seeming completely oblivious to the redhead by her side. "Why _not _you?"

"Answer her question seriously." Gaara spat.

Sighing, Kabuto told her, "You were very distressed that night, Sakura. I merely wanted to take your pain away. Your fight with Sasuke–kun and Naruto–kun had been rather vicious, hadn't it? I just wanted to try and make you happy."

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she tried her best to keep her anger under control, as she tried her best to keep the sudden urge to beat the shit out of Kabuto under control. "You wanted to _make me happy_?" Sakura asked harshly, her eyes snapping open to glare at him. "You didn't take my pain away at all! You added to it. _You raped me_! Not only once, but several times. How the hell would that make me happy?"

Kabuto's eyes swept around the large room, making sure that nobody had heard his dear Sakura's outburst.

"You have always been the type of girl who is comforted by another's touch." he answered plainly with a shrug. "Whilst watching you I discovered many things and that happened to be one of them."

A whore. He was making her sound like nothing more than a whore.

It was taking everything in Gaara not to attack him.

"So that's why you attacked me." Sakura stated in a flat voice, but Gaara could hear the pain in it no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "You thought that it would make me feel happy having you rape me."

Before Kabuto could even reply, she threw her hand up in the air and in an instant, Shisui and Tsunade were there by her side, the latter glaring viciously at Kabuto as they waited for Sakura and Gaara to stand.

"I hope you burn in hell for what you did." Sakura spat at him, making no effort to keep her voice low. "Not only for what you did to me, but what you did to Gaara. You're truly fucked up in the head if you believe you could _ever _make me happy!"

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Kabuto sat back in his seat, seeming unconcerned by the fact that everyone's eyes were now on them. "Are you still saying that you belong to Gaara–kun?" His eyes suddenly narrowed as he stood up, glaring down at her and Gaara and ignoring Shisui's warning to back off, ignoring how other officers were now approaching them to take him away at Shisui's order. "You are _mine_, Sakura, and one day, you will see that too. Sasuke–kun and Gaara–kun, even Zaku, will never give you what I can." Even as he was being dragged away, he continued to yell at her. "This isn't over, Sakura! You need me just as much as I need you."

"Insane bastard." Tsunade snarled, her clenched fists trembling.

Gaara ignored them as he guided Sakura out of the hall and away from the curious stares that were watching them.

Once they had collected their things and were outside, Gaara leaned Sakura against the wall as she breathed deeply, willing the shake to leave her body and forcing her tears back.

However, just as they did, shouting reached her ears as well as flashing.

Her eyes flew open, staring around her in fear and shock as she and Gaara were surrounded by reporters and their cameras.

"Haruno–san! How are you feeling?"

"Were you visiting Yakushi Kabuto?"

"Is that Sabaku–sama?"

"How is your fierce protector, Ao?"

"Move back!" Shisui ordered, seeming to appear out of nowhere as he stood between Sakura, Gaara and the reporters. It took Tsunade a little longer to reach them, but she was most definitely not as gentle as Shisui in pushing the reporters away, snarling and cursing at them. It seemed she was having a very bad day. "Gaara, get Sakura back to the car!" Shisui told him. "We'll take care of these guys."

He did so without saying a word, all but dragging Sakura over to his car and before they were even buckled in, he was driving off, only just missing the reporters that had chased after them.

"I don't even know how Ao is doing." Sakura whispered, staring out of the window. "What sort of owner am I if I don't even know how my own dog is doing? He saved my life and I–"

"Stop it." Gaara cut her off, not even looking in her direction. "You have had a lot on your mind and you know how he's doing. He misses you, but Ao is fine. Your mother told you that just the other day when she came to visit with him and your father."

Slouching in her seat, Sakura nodded numbly and adjusted her seatbelt as she buckled herself in. "I think we should visit him more, or at least take him to the park every day."

Instead of arguing, Gaara simply nodded. Honestly, Ao deserved a lot more than that, but right now, Sakura just wasn't ready to go back to that house and they were all too busy at his home to take care of him. Leaving a dog alone for so many hours a day wasn't right. At least with Mebuki and Kazashi, they could take care of him and he wouldn't be left alone.

"He would like that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – I mentioned this on my ItaSaku story (**Bruised, Broken & Healed**), but there may be a chance that I won't be able to update as much anymore.**

**I found a course at college that I really want to do and next week, I'm going to enrol. If I get onto the course (if, because my exam results aren't the best), then I'm going to be really busy. But I'm so excited, though! I've never really wanted to go to school or college, which is partly why my results were so bad, but I actually want to do this. I'll give you all more details next week if I can get onto the course. The reason why I'm telling you now is because I'm too excited not to!**

**Oh! Am I the only one who's curious as to what happened when Kakashi used to send things to the other dimension before the war? Like, what happened if he sent some attack there whilst Obito was using the technique that allows attacks to go straight through him? Would Obito have been hit by the attacks meant for Kakashi? Or would he have been able to evade them? I've just got this vision in my head where Obito is suddenly hit with a jutsu and he randomly yells out "damn it, Kakashi!" or something like that.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-D**


	68. Recovering

**Chapter 68 – Recovering**

The next couple of months had been difficult and long. The trial had been torturous, especially when they played the tapes Karin and Zaku had created as evidence and she had to take the stand and speak. Well, Sakura didn't _have_ to do it, as she could have instead spoken through a video connection instead, but it didn't seem right to do so, not after saying how she wanted other rape victims to step forward. She simply decided to be strong for them, for those who were still trying to find their voices.

Karin, Juugo and Dosu were all sentenced to a minimum of five years. Suigetsu was sentenced to fifteen. Zaku was sentenced to thirty years for not only rape, breaking and entering and assault, but also sex–trafficking and dealing drugs. As for Kabuto, he was sentenced to life for rape, breaking and entering, assault, withholding dangerous information (on Orochimaru's whereabouts and the rest of his plans) and attempted murder.

They were _all _on the sex offender's list for life.

The reason why Karin, Juugo, Dosu, Zaku and Suigetsu were given such short sentences was because they were the ones who willingly gave up all information on Orochimaru. However, once the deal had been made, it turned out that the five of them were still withholding information, but because the deal had already been finalized, nothing could be done about it.

It didn't make her feel any better. Sure, having them all locked away made her feel a little bit safer, but it didn't make her happier. It didn't take away her nightmares. It didn't change the fact that she still couldn't even go to her own home without having to suffer from vicious and unrelenting flashbacks.

During the trial, Sakura's panic attacks had become more severe to the point where she stopped going to school altogether. Gaara never left her side for a second and instead, together, they were tutored in his home by Kakashi. The man really was a genius! He wasn't the best teacher ever, but he had been extremely understanding and didn't push Sakura too hard, yet he still teased her every now and then to give her a sense of normalcy. The only times she and Gaara went to school was to take their exams.

Gaara's shoulder was doing better, though it wasn't perfect. There were still days when it caused him pain if he was putting too much weight on it, but physical therapy seemed to be helping him a lot.

Her story had been played on the news quite a few times, especially during the trial. There had been paparazzi everywhere when they discovered she was staying at the Sabaku's home instead of her own and no matter how many times the Sabaku siblings told them to get lost, they didn't. They stuck around, even going as far as to zoom in on windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sakura. They never did and now they kept the curtains closed. Whenever somebody knocked on the door, Gaara would answer it if they were alone in the house (he scared the shit out of the paparazzi). If they had to leave, she would cover her face and hair and run to the car.

Only once had she spoken to the reporters and their cameras. It hadn't been an official interview, because Sakura knew for a fact that she was definitely not ready for that. No, instead she had stood in front of the cameras for not even ten minutes, answering some of their questions. It had been difficult, but with Gaara stood by her side, it had made it a little easier. She didn't go into detail about what happened to her but told enough about herself that she hoped others would step forward.

Gaara, her family and friends were a great support and were all there to help her every step of the way.

It was difficult at times. Some mornings, when Sakura woke up, she would simply lay there and not even bother to open her eyes. The feeling that would wash over her was strange. It made her feel numb and like she had no energy whatsoever and when that happened, negative feelings would fill her. She hated feeling that way. So, to try and push away those dark thoughts, Sakura threw herself into all sorts of different things and refused to focus on them for even a second.

Like she had promised, around two months after her birthday, Ino got her wish of throwing her a party. Sakura couldn't complain. For Ino, it was quite toned down and it took her mind off of everything that had been happening. It seemed Ino had scheduled it to be around the middle of the trial, so that Sakura would be able unwind a little. Also, so that she wasn't tempted in any way, there was no alcohol at the party, although Sakura was certain that Tsunade had smuggled a couple of bottles of sake in. It had annoyed her a little that nobody trusted her around alcohol, but considering how easy it had been for Ino to talk her into drinking not too long ago, Sakura wasn't all too surprised.

Gaara was whizzing through his exams with little to no trouble. He didn't mention how easy he was finding them, but Sakura could tell. It wasn't that she wasn't finding them easy, because she was, it was just that Gaara didn't feel the need to brag about such things. Hopefully, if things continued the way they were, they would both receive great results in August despite everything that had been happening and all of the distractions.

Finally opening her eyes, Sakura was greeted by the sight of Gaara's bare chest. He wasn't sleeping either anymore. In fact, she was certain he had woken up around the same time as her and now they were merely laying together.

They still hadn't gone any further than kissing and things still had not heated up the way they had in the hospital. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with Gaara in such a way, because she did, more than anything. It was just that right now, she didn't need that certain connection. Sakura was happy with just having him by her side. That was enough for her. And whether he knew her reasons or not, Gaara didn't push her. He never had pushed her and probably never will. She liked that. It made her feel comfortable.

"Do we have any exams today?"

Gaara glanced down at the head of pastel pink hair. "No."

She was silent for a moment, her eyelashes brushing against his chest every time she blinked and her hold on his hand as it rested against his stomach was loose yet firm at the same time. Every night now, they held each other as they slept. Before the attack, they had sometimes moved across the bed into various positions, but now they stayed close to each other, refusing to part even in sleep. It was more Sakura than Gaara, but he couldn't deny that he felt that same need to hold her, to make sure that she was really there and alive.

"I think I'm going to book an appointment at a hair salon today." Gaara blinked in surprise. Well that was rather random. "I'm tired of having long hair. It's just in the way."

He tried to imagine Sakura with short hair, but no image would come to mind. All he could see was her with her long, layered hair that felt like silk whenever he ran his hands through it. It also smelled a little like fresh apples, but Gaara knew that that was just her shampoo.

"Why?"

Shrugging, Sakura lifted herself onto one of her elbows whilst her now free hand ruffled her hair, throwing it to the side and out of her face. "I just want a change."

Not knowing what else to say, Gaara nodded once as his hand raised and played with the ends of her hair. There were a few split ends due to the amount of heat she used on it, but other than that, Gaara couldn't really see the need she felt to get it cut. It was nice the length that it was. However, if she truly wanted a change, then who was he to stop her? It was her hair after all. Besides, it was reaching her waist now and they were entering summer. It would be much easier for her to have it cut.

"So," she said as she leaned over him, giving him a smile, "other than getting my hair cut, what should we do today?" Gaara shrugged, honestly having no idea. Now that they studied at home instead of going into school, they had so much free time. "Well, since Kakashi is always late, we have until around eleven to do whatever we want and it's," Sakura paused for a moment, glancing over at the alarm clock on the bedside table, "only just gone seven." Pouting, she looked down at him. "Why are we up so early?"

"We were both asleep fairly early last night."

"It was way past midnight when we fell asleep!"

Most nights, almost exactly like their first night together, they stayed up most of the night. Nothing sexual happened like it did on that first night. They simply talked about everything and anything. Sakura opened up to him about everything she was feeling and Gaara did whatever possible to ease her of those negative feelings. If she hadn't been in love with him before, then she most definitely was now. How many other guys would be so patient with her? How many other guys would listen to her? Not nod along and say "yeah, I understand", but _truly listen_?

Just what the hell would she do without him?

Sakura groaned, her head dropping onto his chest softly as her eyes slid closed. "I need a shower, but it's too much effort to actually get out of bed."

Before she could even react, Gaara was shifting beneath her and not even five seconds later, she was being _carried_ into the bathroom. All Sakura could do was stare down at his blank expression and blink.

As for Gaara, all that was running through his mind was that he couldn't let her go into that dark place. Yes he knew that just because it was "too much effort" to get out of bed didn't mean that Sakura was feeling down, but he wasn't going to risk it. Lately, he had been doing whatever possible to keep her from feeling depressed. Of course there were moments when it just couldn't be helped what with the trial and exams and everything else, but he still did his best to keep her happy.

"Gaara!" Sakura finally snapped out of her shock, glaring down at him. "Your shoulder!"

"You're not heavy." he huffed, setting her down on her feet as he switched on the shower.

"That's not the point!" she told him. "Carrying me around like it's nothing is still a strain. What if–"

The fact that he was undressing her made Sakura cut herself off since she had to lift her arms for him so that Gaara could remove her shirt. That didn't mean she wasn't upset with him though and to make that clear, her glare and pout remained in place even as her shirt hit the ground. He wasn't affected by it in the slightest but that didn't surprise Sakura.

She folded her arms over her now bare chest, refusing to let it go and noticing this, Gaara dropped his hands to his sides and stared her down. Icy blue clashed with apple green. Sakura raised an eyebrow. He smirked.

"You're so lucky that you're pretty." she muttered, shoving her underwear down her legs and kicking them to the side of the bathroom, giving Gaara a view of her pale back and ass as she stepped into the shower and under the hot water that was now pouring down over her.

Sakura didn't wear bras or shorts for bed. Sometimes, she preferred wearing nothing at all. It had always been that way. Well during the summer it always had been. Any other season, she would wear shirts and underwear. Gaara was used to her sleeping habits by now as he himself only slept in his underwear. He couldn't deny that it was much more comfortable.

Also removing his underwear, Gaara joined Sakura in the shower, accepting the soap she handed him, but surprising her as he began to rub it against her skin, cleaning her wordlessly.

She smiled softly.

This. _This_ was exactly what she wanted.

Gaara.

Just Gaara.

* * *

><p>"Where is she?"<p>

Gaara glanced up at Kakashi and shrugged, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, the sound of the front door opening and closing had him pausing and looking over his shoulder in the direction of it, his eyes widening a fraction as he saw Sakura.

Just like she had told him that morning, she had gotten her hair cut.

And he liked it.

He liked it a lot.

It was an inch longer at the front (the front that just about reached her shoulders) than it was at the back and at the moment, it had been styled in such a way that made it seemed thinner at the ends than it was at the roots, if that made any sense at all. Choppy layers, he believed was the style. That was how it appeared to him, anyway. Or perhaps she had had it curled? Yes. She had. They were very loose curls, looking more like spikes, but now that he was looking more closely, Gaara could notice them. It was still parted down the centre and her bangs still framed the sides of her face, but… He didn't know. It was different and he liked it.

There must have been a certain look in his eyes because Sakura was suddenly smiling widely, her apple green eyes shining with happiness.

Kakashi being Kakashi, he didn't comment on the sudden change, but he did give her a smile. "You're later than I was, Sakura."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura slipped off her shoes and hung up her jacket. "Actually, my car wasn't too far behind yours. I know that you just got here, too."

"Right." he sighed. He would have to keep in mind what car Sakura drove so that he wouldn't be caught out again. "You have less than a month left at school," Kakashi told them both suddenly, earning him frowns of confusion but they soon slipped away at his next couple of words, "and the others, mostly Yamanaka Ino, wanted me to tell you both that you _have_ to return to school on the last day."

Of course. Why wasn't Sakura surprised? On the last day of school, the leavers (her year, unless certain students had chosen to stay and do another year) would have books filled with photographs and would ask people to sign it. They were always home made end–of–year books, although most of them were created during art class. Not only would people ask for their books to be signed, but everyone took pictures with each other on their final day.

It honestly wasn't as boring as it sounded. There were no lessons on the final day and it was non–uniform, meaning they could wear whatever they wanted – within reason. In some classes, the teachers allowed their students to watch movies and simply relax, though during the movies, the students walked around the classroom, asking for people to sign their books and take pictures with them.

"I don't think we really have a choice." Sakura smirked as they made their way over to the dining room to begin their lessons. "Ino will hunt us down if we're just a second late." Sitting down in her usual seat, she bit her lip for a moment. "I wonder what I could wear…"

Gaara rolled his eyes. Knowing Sakura, she would decide on an outfit now and then change her mind tomorrow. Not even a week later, she would go shopping, buy a ridiculous amount of clothing that she would most likely never even wear, before deciding against wearing those too, until finally, she would go back to the first outfit.

* * *

><p>And he was right, as usual.<p>

Sakura did exactly that.

Just like he had presumed, it had taken weeks until Sakura finally settled on an outfit. Actually, it was the night before that she finally decided on what to wear. Plain jean shorts and a cream shirt (made out of some thin material so that it wouldn't make her too warm) that looked a size too big around her breasts yet tight around her hips and arms and fell off one shoulder. There was a wide, black belt hanging loosely around her hips over the shirt, matching the black heeled boots that were four inches high, but the heel was thick enough that they wouldn't hurt her feet from standing too long. All in all, it was a casual outfit and Gaara had no idea why it had taken her so long to decide on it. As for himself, he was wearing plain black jeans, a plain crimson t–shirt and converse. It took less than a minute to choose his outfit.

It was the last day of school today. Exams were over and done with. People were celebrating. People were arguing. People were making out in the hallways.

Sakura sighed. High school never changed, did it?

It surprised her how many people asked for her to sign their leaver's books and not only that, but they also asked for pictures with her, to which Sakura had shrugged and posed with them. If she was shocked by that fact, then Gaara was practically floored when he received the same treatment. He hid his shock well, though. However, unlike Sakura, he didn't pose for pictures. The only pictures he allowed to be taken of him were pictures with his or Sakura's friends.

His friends.

To him, that was still strange to hear. Or say. Or think.

Many other students came up to him, telling him how brave he must be to have taken a bullet for somebody he cared for. Gaara had no idea what to say in return.

Brave? Hardly. He had taken that bullet for Sakura because he had been terrified of losing her, because he wanted her to continue living. Gaara had refused to allow the man who had raped her to be the man who took her life. Actually, he would rip anyone to shreds who dared to take her life. Sakura deserved to live a long and happy life. After everything that had happened to her, it was the least she deserved. And he was determined to give that to her.

Also, it seemed that Gaara had fan–girls now, much to Sakura's amusement. And annoyance.

However, unlike how Sasuke's fan–girls were (downright creepy!), Gaara's seemed to respect his relationship with Sakura. In fact, they admired their relationship. That was a new experience to them both.

She wasn't sure if Gaara was aware of the fact they had been caught in quite a few pictures. After all, there was always that one person who just _had _to have pictures of everyone, even if they didn't know the picture was being taken. The only reason Sakura knew was because she could feel eyes on her and when she had glanced over her shoulder, she had spotted the group taking pictures.

The group was harmless, in her eyes. It was merely their job to take pictures of the school and students. Some called them 'the nerds', whereas Sakura now liked to call them the… Okay, so she still called them nerds. Not in an offensive way! It was more like a term of endearment. They were Konoha high's nerds and where would they be without them? No. Where would _Sarutobi Hiruzen_ be without them? He may be a smart man, but he couldn't use a computer to save his life. They helped him with that. One or two of them may have also changed around the lunch menu at her request. And her detentions. But that was besides the point!

Stretching her arms up, Sakura barely held back her yawn.

She was in English.

It wasn't as bad as it had been during the year. Hinata spoke to her more now, though if the lesson was in session, she would keep her head down and work hard and Sasuke no longer tensed whenever he heard her voice. If anything, it seemed to relax him. Also, because it was the last day, he had turned around to face her and Hinata. From across the room, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba had dragged themselves over to them and now they all sat around her and Hinata's desk, talking and signing books and taking pictures. Well, at Ino's 'request', Hinata was taking pictures. Her face was red the entire time.

"How's Ao?"

Glancing up at Kiba from signing his book, Sakura smiled brightly. "He's great! I miss having him with me, though. It wouldn't be fair to leave him alone all the time and since I can't stand being in that house anymore…" When she trailed off, he nodded once in understanding. "I'm just glad the judge decided not to listen to that bastard's request."

"What request?" Choji asked in between shoving crisps into his mouth.

Oh she was going to miss having Choji around. At first, she had hated the sound of him munching but now it was actually rather comforting. It was just one of those sounds that was always in the background. Kind of like a refrigerator! Sighing, Sakura looked back down at the book, taking care to keep her handwriting neat. "Kabuto wanted Ao put down because he's a 'danger' to society."

Kiba's eyes flashed angrily. "What the hell? He called _Ao_ a danger? He did what he had to, to protect you!"

"And that's what the judge said." Sasuke told him with a flat voice, but they could all hear the tone in it that practically screamed 'shut the fuck up yelling and stop making a scene'. "He ignored Kabuto's request, saying he deserved everything he got and more."

"However," Sakura added, "he wanted me to prove that I could handle a dog like Ao. It was kind of understandable, really, if you think about it. Even you were shocked that he obeyed me without question and didn't pull whilst we're on walks, Kiba."

"He has to keep everybody's safety in mind." Shikamaru shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. "No doubt the fact that Ao also listens to Gaara helped, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It was a little unbelievable to him that such a small looking girl could handle such a strong looking dog."

"You mean beast of a dog!" Choji stated with a chuckle. "I saw Ao on television one time! He's huge. What do you and your mom feed those dogs, Kiba?"

Just like she had been expecting, Kiba grinned wolfishly, but said nothing. He would have replied with something along the lines of 'I don't know, but apparently you've had some too' but he didn't want to risk getting on Choji's bad side. At least not today. "So Ao's not going to be put down?"

"Like I'd let that happen!" Sakura told him like it was obvious. "Ao only attacked Kabuto like that because he was protecting me. Having Itachi there to prove that Ao listened to me when I told him not to kill Kabuto helped a lot, though. I don't think the judge really believed Naruto." They were all silent for a moment, some imagining what the blond would have yelled out, whereas the others were remembering and shaking their heads. "He believed you too, didn't he, Sasuke?"

He shrugged. "Probably."

Did she mention that she had signed Sasuke's book with:

_Despite being my best friend, you'll always be an arrogant asshole._

He had replied on hers with:

_Hn. You're so annoying._

Oh it had made her laugh. Not.

There were still moments between her and Sasuke where he would look at her in such a way that Sakura knew for a fact he wasn't completely over her yet. It didn't surprise her and she didn't mean that in a big–headed way because she _expected_ him to love her. They were together since they were fifteen and even though she had been missing for a while, Sasuke had still cared about her. He had still come by asking after her, wondering when or if Sakura would speak to him again. There were too many memories shared between them for him to just suddenly be over her.

If she was being completely honest, there were even some moments where _she_ wasn't over him. Gaara knew that too. And it made her feel so awful because he didn't ever say anything negative about it! It was like he accepted it. Did he think the same way she did? Didn't it _not_ surprise him because he knew of how close she and Sasuke used to be?

Sakura tried her best to hide those feelings around Gaara. He had risked his life to keep her safe and it just… It felt so wrong having feelings for another guy.

It was said somewhere you never forget your first love.

However, it is your first _real_ love that shows you that what you felt before, was mere child's play. That love was nothing compared to real love.

And again, it made her feel awful. This time, for Sasuke.

Ugh! She had thought that this was over now.

Nothing would ever happen between her and Sasuke again – she knew that for a fact. All Sakura wanted now, was Gaara. She loved him.

"So," Sakura said quickly, shoving those certain thoughts from her mind, "any plans for the summer?"

"Temari wants me to go on vacation with her."

At Shikamaru's sigh, she grinned. "Suna! Yeah, she was talking about it the other morning. Did you know she's originally from there? I mean, all the Sabaku siblings?"

"Really?" Kiba asked and he seemed genuinely stunned. "But why did they move here?"

Like she was going to give them the real reason! As her eyes met with Shikamaru's, it stunned her to see that he also knew the truth. Playing dumb, Sakura shrugged. "Who knows? I've once thought about moving out of Konoha just for a new start, so maybe it was that. They were only kids when they moved here. I think… Temari was around five at the time?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Either way, they're here now and they're staying. So are you going to go, Shikamaru?"

"If I say no, she'll only end up dragging me there." he sighed and rested his head in his hand. "Troublesome woman."

Once again, Sakura's grin was back. "Don't say that! Temari will kick your ass."

"Sounds like your Temari's bitch, Shikamaru." Kiba smirked, nudging Choji's side. The latter hid his smirk of agreement by tipping up the packet of crisps into his mouth.

"What about you, Kiba?" Choji asked. It wasn't the most subtle change, but Shikamaru was grateful for it. "What are you doing this summer?"

"Helping out at the shelter." he shrugged, though they could all see that he was happy about it. "One of the bitches that just came in is pregnant and she's due to give birth sometime during the holidays."

An impish smile graced Sakura's lips. "Hey, Kiba? Does Ao have any puppies that I should know about?"

"He was a little busy with the females, I'll admit that." he smirked. "But I don't think so. Oh wait, no! Yeah, he got one of them pregnant, but all the pups found new owners fairly quickly. Everybody wants a puppy." Rolling his eyes, he grabbed Hinata's book, earning him a startled gasp since she hadn't even asked him to take it. Flipping through the pages, he searched until he found a picture of the two of them together before setting to signing it. "It's stupid! I mean, half of them don't even keep the pups when they grow up because they're 'too expensive' and 'too much to handle'. Pisses me off."

Hinata fidgeted with her sleeves, biting her lip as she stared down at what he was writing.

Sakura smirked and nudged Sasuke's side, gesturing with her head to watch the two.

"Most of them don't even bother to house train the dogs! So then it's even harder work for us to train them since they're all over a year old when we get them. No, it's not that hard training older dogs, but most of them don't know the difference between right and wrong."

The Hyuuga's eyebrows knitted together. "K–Kiba–kun…"

"What sort of person wants a dog that will shit and piss all over their house? I don't – Hinata, what are you doing?"

Before he could continue, she had all but ripped the pen out of his hand, gratefully accepting the makeup wipe Sakura handed to her so she could clean her fingers. "You burst the pen, Kiba–kun."

His eyes widened and he looked down at the book before him, although thankfully, he hadn't gotten any ink on the pages.

"Geez, Kiba." Sakura smirked. "Tell us how you _really_ feel."

Opening his mouth, Kiba was about to say something, but was cut off by a flash of a camera, making him blink a couple of times to try and get rid of the weird spots in his vision. And then his eyes narrowed as he turned to face the person who had taken the picture, but the girl was already skipping away to take more of other people. He growled. Great! Now when the pictures were shown at the end of the day, he was going to be seen looking like an idiot.

At the end of the day, there was always an assembly where Sarutobi would say a few words to those who wouldn't be returning to the school and as he did, pictures of their time at the school would be shown. However most of them would be taken on the last day (today), due to the fact that not a lot of people enjoyed participating in after school activities and whatnot.

The sound of the bell ringing had Sakura pulling herself to her feet and picking her bag up, holding her leavers book in her other hand. For a while, Hinata walked with her, but soon enough, they had to part ways as they had different lessons.

"Genma–sensei!" Sakura smiled as she entered the maths class. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Gaara sitting in his usual seat and beside him, sat Kakashi. "You didn't tell me you're engaged to Shizune–san!"

He gave her a lazy smirk. "I didn't know that I was supposed to tell you."

"Of course you are! She's like the older sister I never–"

"Genma–sensei, Sakura–san! Smile." a voice chirped from behind them.

Turning around, Sakura smiled brightly for the camera and once the picture was taken, she faced Genma once more.

"Like I was saying, she's like the older sister I never had!" Then, more teasingly, she added, "Hurt her and I'll–"

"Tsunade–sama has already had this conversation with me many years ago and continues to remind me of it, every time I see her." he chuckled, sitting down in his seat. "I know. And I won't hurt her."

"Good!" Sakura nodded once. She could honestly see Tsunade approaching Genma and threatening him. "So what did she threaten you with? Castration or broken bones?"

The colour drained from his face. "You don't want to know."

Laughing, Sakura rolled her eyes and turned away. "Fine, fine. Whatever happens, I'm sure Shizune–san will stitch you back up again!"

When she approached Gaara and Kakashi, the latter was reading his _Icha Icha_ book whilst the former was reading something that had been written in his leaver's book. Dumping hers onto the table, Sakura sat down beside Gaara, shuffling closer to see what was written and in response, he shifted the book to the side so she could get a better look.

It was from Sasuke.

The only reason she could tell was because of his writing. There was no signature to tell people that it was from him, but Sakura could tell because of the way he wrote his 'a'.

_Take care of her, Sabaku._

Not too far away from his, there was another. This one was so obviously from Naruto due to the fact that he wrote like a child. Also, next to his writing was a smiley face. They were guessing that it was supposed to look like him, considering it had messy hair, a giant grin and… Wait. Had he drawn on whiskers?

_Oi! You better not forget me. We'll go out for ramen every week and I swear I'm gonna beat you the next time we go to the arcades!_

Sakura smirked to herself as she opened her own book, flicking through the pages until she reached hers and Naruto's. It wasn't too far from the front and took up two double pages. Not with writing, of course, as she didn't believe Naruto would be able to sit still and write that much. No, it was mostly pictures.

"One time," she told Gaara when she noticed his look of confusion and hearing her speak, Kakashi looked up from his book and glanced down at the picture she was pointing at, "Naruto got so drunk, that we dragged him down to this tattoo place. I got some piercings done there before, so I knew it was sterile and the guy didn't particularly care that we were underage." Her smirk widened. "Naruto asked the guy to tattoo whiskers onto his cheeks. Kushina–san had a fit the next day when she saw him!"

"So that's what happened." Kakashi murmured as he stared down at the book. On the picture Sakura was pointing out, she was holding Naruto's hand and whispering in his ear, smirking as the tattoo guy got ready to begin. Naruto was laying down on a bed, had a goofy grin on his flushed face and his eyes were closed – obviously intoxicated. Kakashi sighed. "I was wondering what made him decide to have tattoos on his face."

"He barely even felt it he was that drunk!" she laughed. "The next day though, you should have seen him! Naruto was freaking out, terrified of what Kushina–san would say. Since we had all crashed at his place, we tried to calm him down, but Kushina–san heard him and barged into his room, screaming at him to shut the hell up. That was nothing compared to how she reacted to the tattoos though. After a while, I think she found them kind of cool. Said they made him look like the animal he was."

"Are you sure you wasn't drunk when she said that?" Because, to Kakashi, he couldn't see Kushina saying such a thing.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, smiling sheepishly, Sakura said, "It _may_ have been Ino who said that."

"You have piercings?" Gaara asked with a frown, remembering suddenly what she had said. He knew that she had her ears pierced, but that was all.

Shaking her head, she glanced up at him. "I did, but I had to take them out when I went to the hospital. My belly button piercing healed itself and so did my cartilage piercings since they had recently been done. I think I had three cartilage piercings altogether." Looking thoughtful for a moment, she frowned softly. "I had my nose pierced at one point, but my dad didn't like it and forced me to take it out straight away. Uh… I also had my…" Her frown deepened. "I had somewhere else pierced, but I can't remember. I was drunk when me and Ino got them done."

Kakashi deadpanned.

She didn't…

"Oh!" she grinned as a faint blush swept across her cheeks. "I had my…" Sakura chuckled sheepishly as she gave Gaara a knowing look.

This time, it was Gaara who deadpanned.

Oh God.

She did.

However, she had taken it out not long after because a certain Uchiha had complained that it looked tacky and like something a porn star would have done.

"Next you will be telling us that you had your nipples pierced."

Gaara's eyes narrowed at Kakashi before he turned back to a blushing Sakura.

"I thought about it." she told them honestly. "But the thought of having them pierced just," she shuddered, "it makes me cringe."

Considering how sensitive her body was, Gaara wasn't surprised. But really? She had her_ clitoris _pierced? "Wouldn't that have hurt more?" He hadn't meant to say that out loud. Damn it! The back of his neck burned when Sakura frowned, looking at him questioningly whilst Kakashi's smirk was hidden by his mask. "The–"

"Oh. _Oh_!" Sakura smirked impishly before it simmered down to a frown of her own. "I was drunk when I got it done and, uh… Ino told me the day after that I apparently thought it was more pleasurable than painful. She still has hers."

Kakashi honestly thought that he was going to have a nosebleed.

The only reason he was there was because it was Sakura's last day. Many people had been approaching her and just before her English lesson, she had sent him a message, asking if he could stay by her side for the rest of the day as all the attention was making her uneasy. Yes, Kakashi knew that he should have gone straight away to her English lesson but… Actually, he wasn't sure why it had taken him so long. All he knew was that the bell was ringing and she now had maths.

Gaara was glad Sakura had taken it out. Wouldn't it have made making love painful for her? He had never had a piercing before and Gaara wasn't sure if he ever would.

"I think she said once before that Sai likes it a lot." Sakura mumbled to herself thoughtfully, unaware of the wide eyed looks both Gaara and Kakashi were giving her. However, their looks disappeared when they heard and saw a flash of a camera, making Gaara inwardly growl. He didn't hate having his picture taken, but he preferred knowing about it first. "Oi, Gaara, would you–"

"No."

"You don't even know what it looks like when–"

"No."

"But what about if I–"

"No."

She sighed, pouting up at him. "For all you know, it could make sex–"

"I said no, Sakura."

"Fine, fine." she sighed before flicking through the pages of her book, looking to see who had signed it. Most were simple 'all the best' wishes and 'good luck'.

When she had been creating her leaver's book, Sasuke had given her back her old phone. It was the one she had left at his place the night Kabuto had first attacked her. The battery had been utterly flat, but other than that, it worked fine once charged. On it had been hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures and now most of them were in her book. There had been pictures of her and Sasuke, too, but most of them… Well, they weren't suitable for her leaver's book. They weren't all sexual, but she was with Gaara now. Having pictures that made it kind of obvious that she had been in a relationship with Sasuke in her book would be… Would it be disrespectful of her? Or insensitive?

So that it had been easier to sort through her pictures, her mother had finally allowed her to buy a laptop. Gaara had told her that she could use his, but Sakura was certain that he didn't want drunken and sexual pictures on his laptop.

Turning to face Gaara once more, Sakura opened her mouth, but the sound of her phone vibrating cut her off. She growled with annoyance. There was always something that interrupted them and now, she couldn't even remember what she had been about to say! Reaching for her phone, still growling, she pulled it out of her bag. However, the moment she saw on the lock screen who had messaged her, her eyes widened.

Sasuke.

'_I need to speak with you. Now.'_

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. In all honesty, he had seemed more distant than usual today. "He looked like he had a lot on his mind in English." she mumbled, glancing up at Gaara. "What do you think is up with him?"

Gaara merely shrugged. "Ask him."

'_What's up?'_

When he replied, it was only seconds later, which confused Sakura further. Sasuke always took his time with replying (Sakura had always thought that he merely wanted to piss everyone off with his slow replies).

'_Not over text.'_

"Must be serious." Sakura stated.

"Meet him, then."

She turned to face him with a frown. "Now?" He nodded once. Looking up at Kakashi, Sakura was surprised to find him already watching them. She could see the slight surprise in his eyes. No doubt it was because of the fact Gaara trusted her so much to speak with her ex–lover, despite knowing that she wasn't completely over him yet. "Will I be allowed to, Kakashi?"

"I don't see why not. You can use my office if it's serious."

Sighing, she looked back down at her phone.

'_Meet me in five minutes at Kakashi's office._'

"Guess I'll be going then." Sakura said a little awkwardly as she stood up. "Do you mind looking after my things?" Gaara gave her a blank look, as though he was asking himself if she was really asking such a stupid question. Of course he would take care of her things! "Right. I'll try and be back before the lesson is over."

"Sakura–"

Her lips cut him off and when she pulled away, Sakura grinned at the surprised look on Gaara's face.

* * *

><p>It only took her a few minutes to get to Kakashi's office, but by the time she arrived, Sasuke was already in there. He was sitting on the sofa, his elbows on his knees and his hands folded in front of his face. Sakura inwardly sighed. This was his brooding pose.<p>

"How do you deal with it?" he asked before she could even sit down.

Pausing for just a split second, Sakura continued with shutting the door before she turned to face him once again. Sasuke still wasn't looking at her. She frowned. Something big was clearly bothering him and as she sat down beside him and he still didn't look at her, Sakura found herself growing more concerned by the minute.

"Deal with what?" Sakura asked quietly. "There's been quite a few–"

"Don't try to make jokes, Sakura." Sasuke rolled his eyes, finally dropping his brooding pose. "You're terrible at them." When her sigh reached him, he turned to face her. "I mean… being labelled as 'mentally unstable'. How do you deal with it?"

Her eyes widened. "Sasuke…"

His eyes narrowed. "Don't pity me. You of all people should know how–"

"I'm not pitying you!" Sakura told him. "Sasuke, you're I.E.D, aren't you?" He seemed shocked that she already knew, but nodded once anyway. "I don't know much about the disorder – I may not know anything about it at all – but I had a suspicion that you may have it and I'll be here for you no matter what. Being labelled as mentally ill…" she grimaced. "I'll admit it takes a while to get your head around it and people _do_ start to look at you differently, but it's honestly not that bad. At least you've got answers now."

Sasuke nodded. That was one of the first things he felt the moment Minato gave him his results. Finally, he had his answers. His anger was now explained. But that didn't make it any easier. What did he do now? Was he supposed to inform his friends like Sakura had wanted to about her own disorder? Sasuke didn't see why he should have to, really. It wouldn't change anything other than the way they looked at him. If he ever lost his temper, would they simply shrug and say "he can't help it, he's mentally unstable"? Sasuke knew that that would only make him angrier.

Noticing his look, Sakura grabbed one of his hands and held it softly. "Sasuke, don't think too much about it. It won't do any good, trust me."

He frowned, looking up from their joined hands and into her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well," She pulled another face and it occurred to him then that she felt slightly awkward. Or was she uncomfortable? "when I was in the hospital, I could do nothing other than think and my mind always went to things I'd rather not think about. Being unstable was one of those things." Sakura bit her lip, her eyebrows knitting together. It was so strange speaking to Sasuke about these things, as it was usually Gaara, Kakashi, Tsunade or Itachi she went to. "The amount of nights I stayed up thinking about my illness nearly drove me insane – more so than what I already am."

Sasuke glared at her. "You're not insane, Sakura."

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Look, it's best not to think too hard about it. Just take one day at a time and do what your psychiatrist tells you to. I don't know if you're being made to take some, but if they make you take medication, make sure you take it. Don't shrug it off as nothing and give up with it." Looking up at him, she frowned. "I did that before and it made it so much worse, Sasuke. I don't know how they treat I.E.D, but whatever they ask you to do, please do it. If not for yourself, then do it for Itachi. Or for Naruto. Or for me."

This time it was Sasuke who sighed as he closed his eyes. "They want to start me out with medication and therapy, but Minato said that the medication has only shown a small amount of success for others."

Just like her. She wasn't only taking medication, but also going to therapy. "If it helps any, I do both." she told him softly, drawing soothing patterns on the back of his hand. It seemed to relax him, just like she knew it would. "They help me a lot, especially when I'm going through an episode. Though," there was a slight tone of teasing as she spoke again, "considering how much you like to brood and be all mysterious, I don't think you'll enjoy therapy."

"I don't brood."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "So you weren't brooding when I first entered the room?"

"…No."

"Sure." she smirked before growing serious. "If you ever need someone to talk to about it, don't feel like you can't come to me. We may not be together that way anymore, but we're still friends, right?"

His eyebrows knitted together and his jaw clenched, but he nodded not even a second after her question.

* * *

><p>The assembly at the end of the day was entertaining and hilarious. Towards the end of Sarutobi's speech and after, pictures were shown on the new large screen at the front of the hall. There were many pictures and for a while, Sakura saw no one she really knew in them until they got to about the seventeenth picture in.<p>

It was of her. And she was punching Naruto.

Most of them laughed at the picture, whilst others were saying how whoever had taken it had great timing, for they had caught the moment just as Sakura's fist reached Naruto's cheek. They were unable to see her features, but the camera caught Naruto's terrified expression, how his eyes had widened.

"If I remember correctly," Sakura murmured to Gaara, who was sat at her side, "Naruto had said something perverted or idiotic. Like always."

The next picture was of Ino and Sai, making Sakura roll her eyes as she saw that Ino had the pale boy pinned against the wall, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt tightly. However, there was a blush on both of their cheeks and a warmth that Sakura had never seen before was in Sai's eyes as he stared down at the blonde.

From the row behind her, she heard Ino say rather proudly, "And that was the day I dominated Sai."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud.

As the pictures went on, she and her friends appeared in many of them. There was the one that had been taken during English where Kiba's mouth had been open. Only, on the picture his eyes had come out rather weird, making it look as though he could possibly be having a seizure. There were also the pictures from maths of Sakura and Genma, the former smiling brightly at the camera whilst the latter simply smirked, as well as the other picture of her, Gaara and Kakashi. The two were looking utterly stunned, staring at Sakura with wide eyes, whilst she was smiling innocently down at her book.

There were so many! One of the pictures was of her, Ino and Hinata and all of them were smiling at the camera. Another was of her, Sasuke and Naruto. She was between the two boys and it was obvious that Sasuke tried to get out of the picture since she had thrown her arms around both boys' necks, looking like she had dragged them both back into the picture. There was a teasing smirk on her face, a large grin on Naruto's, and a reluctant smirk on Sasuke's when he realised there was no getting out of it.

A picture of Gaara sitting with Naruto appeared on the screen and seeing it made Sakura smile. There was a small smile on Gaara's lips and, like every other picture taken of Naruto, the blond was grinning.

But then the pictures started going back in time, showing them of their years in the school.

Their first year pictures were being shown and Sakura grumbled as hers was revealed. She looked so young! And her forehead looked so big! Sasuke's was almost the exact same as Gaara's, as they were both simply staring at the camera with an empty expression. Naruto's was…

_What the hell_?

He had painted over his face and was pulling a rather unattractive expression. His hand took over most of the picture, but that didn't stop them all from seeing him. Sakura shook her head. Yeah, they were definitely their first year photographs. Naruto had been such a prankster back then.

No pictures were shown of Karin, Suigetsu or Juugo.

It was so obvious how much they had all changed as they watched the slide show of pictures. They showed many opening up more, becoming more open as well as showing others finding themselves. The pictures showed Naruto calming down, showed Sasuke and Gaara seeming as though they were switching positions. They showed Ino and Sakura's rivalry and fallouts, but also how strong their friendship truly was. The pictures also seemed to pick up on the changes in Sakura, although only if you truly knew her. One or two of the pictures also captured what could have been classed as a hint towards a relationship between her and Sasuke, which stunned them all.

Near the end, they went back to recent pictures of groups of friends. Her group was one of them. Because of it being the last day, she and Gaara had joined the others for lunch in the cafeteria and because of how many there were, they had to drag other tables over so that they could all sit together. They were all talking amongst one another, smiling and signing each other's books. Sakura was surprised to find a picture of her and Gaara in there and if the way he tensed ever so slightly, he was surprised too.

They were sat on the roof where they always ate lunch together and Sakura had a suspicion that it was either Kakashi who took the picture (which she seriously doubted), Gai (because he had once asked her why she liked to sit on the roof, so also knew that she always ate her lunch up there) or Sai. Their backs were to the camera, but due to the way she was sitting and the fact she was looking up at him, they could see Sakura's bright smile, could see the soft look in her eyes, the look of love and adoration.

And then the warm mood was destroyed by the next picture. No, it didn't make her feel negative in any way, it just made her laugh. It was of her, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Hinata and Gai during gym, when they were all told to pair up. She was on Lee's back with a baton held firmly in her hand whilst the other held onto his shoulder. Lee had a faint blush across his cheeks, but seemed just as determined as her as he faced forward, crouching as though preparing to shoot off (he had done exactly that and she would have gone flying off his back if not for his hold on her).

A few feet away from them was Neji with Tenten on his back and Naruto with an extremely red Hinata on his back. The girl looked as though she was about to pass out, but that wasn't too surprising. Sakura had discovered that Hinata had feelings for Naruto, not Gaara. Also, Naruto's hands were unnecessarily high on her thighs and there wasn't an inch of space between their bodies, unlike how Lee was holding her or how Neji was holding Tenten. Naruto was glaring over at Lee and Neji, looking as though he was yelling something at them. As for Gai, he was standing not too far away, also yelling something (most likely something about youth and determination).

"Of course _we_ won the race." Sakura smirked up at Gaara proudly, earning her a smirk in return.

It ended not long after that with a picture of all the leavers standing together (they were all standing on platforms so that everyone could be seen) with Sarutobi Hiruzen in front of them in dead centre as well as the teachers spread out in front of them. Kakashi had been added to the picture, despite his reluctance and was standing close to Sakura.

"You can buy your official leaver's book on the way out." Sarutobi spoke up once the slide show was over and the music faded away. "I wish you all good luck with what you decide to do and I look forward to hearing great things about you all."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - I don't really know much about sentencing, so I'm just going off on what I've seen in movies or television shows. Also, I never went to my leaver's assembly, but I know that there were pictures and music and a speech. At the end of every year (and some odd occasion during the year) we also had non-uniform days like during this chapter.**

**Somebody recommended that I watch Death Note and whoever did, thank you! I'm on episode twenty four now and it's safe to say I love it. L has to be my favourite character! He's so weird.**

**Enrolment day tomorrow! If I'm feeling kind and they've let me in, I _might_ update tomorrow after I've enrolled...**

**Only two chapters left! :-(**

**I really hope this week's Naruto chapter is out. Last week they didn't post it and I was like "ugh. wot are you doing!?" I think it was a Japanese holiday or something? Meh. Hopefully, the chapter will be coming out today.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	69. I've Been Thinking

**Chapter ****69 – ****I've Been Thinking**

They finished school one month ago and now, it was all about relaxing. Well, for her it was. Sometimes. Gaara was busy with even more meetings than before because of him no longer being in school and she was busy doing some early studying on mental illnesses, so that she wouldn't be completely unprepared for college. During the past month, she had also contacted Tsunade, asking the woman if she would mind taking her on as her apprentice. Sakura had been ecstatic when the blonde agreed.

The only thing Sakura had to do now, was speak to a certain redhead about something important.

Entering the living room, she found Gaara sitting on the sofa, looking down at the sheets of paper on the coffee table before him. His expression was blank, but she could tell by the faint creasing between his eyebrows that he was thinking hard about something, or something was bothering him. Now that she thought about it, his shoulder had been rather stiff this morning, no matter how hard he had tried to hide it. Was it hurting him?

"I've been thinking," Sakura said slowly as she sat down beside Gaara on the sofa, "about us."

His eyes slid over to Sakura as she threw her legs over his and snuggled into his side. Considering the way she was sat, Gaara was guessing that whatever she had been thinking couldn't be too bad, otherwise she wouldn't be holding onto him like she was. "What about us?"

She smiled hesitantly and looked down at her legs before pressing her face into the crook of his neck. "I was thinking that, _maybe_, we could… you know… move in together?" When nothing but silence answered her, Sakura pulled back to look into his eyes, her own eyes nervous as she bit her lip. "I–I know it's sudden and everything, but what with you being shot and me… well, you know… it just really opened my eyes a–and I don't want to waste any more time. I–If you think about it, at least this way we can keep each other safe."

A small smile played along Gaara's lips as he brought a hand up and brushed aside the hair on Sakura's face, quite enjoying the blush on her cheeks and the hesitant and shy look in her eyes. "That's what you've been thinking so hard about?" At her surprised expression, Gaara couldn't help but chuckle. "Sakura, you are like an open book to me. I was just waiting for you to tell me when you were ready." There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "I didn't think you would be asking me to move in with you, or you with me, but I knew it would be something big."

Once again, Sakura bit her lip. "So? What do you say?"

He really couldn't help but smile at the look on her face. She seemed so nervous and it took a lot to make her nervous!

When he nodded, Sakura squealed happily before throwing her arms around him and crushing her lips to his. Breaking away for air, Sakura spoke. "Since we're going to be in the city most of the time, I was thinking that we could get a condo." Her blush deepened as Sakura looked down at their joined hands, fidgeting with them. "I _might_ have already found one that would be perfect for all three of us."

Gaara raised a brow before repeating, "For the three of us?"

"Well, we can't just leave Ao behind, can we?" Sakura chuckled as she looked back up at him. "He saved our lives!"

Once again, Gaara nodded and couldn't help but smile at Sakura's excitement and happiness. She looked like a child on Christmas morning! "So you have already found an apartment?"

She nodded eagerly. "Well, it's more of a condo than an apartment. I know they're more or less the same thing, but ours is slightly different. Well, it's ours if we want it. I mean, we don't have to take _this_ apartment or anything. I just thought that maybe–"

"You like this condo."

Biting her lip, Sakura looked up at Gaara and once again blushed as she nodded. "I… uh… have some pictures of it in my bag, too. I printed them off earlier when you were on the phone."

He really couldn't help but chuckle.

As Sakura showed him the pictures, Gaara had to admit that it was pretty impressive. The condo was on the east corner of the building and had floor to ceiling windows as well as a balcony and wooden flooring. The whole condo looked like a place of relaxation, yet it was also modern and stylish, which would be a great place for them both and not only that, but it was luxurious all at the same time. It was already furnished with expensive–looking furniture and the place fortunately allowed pets, which surprised Gaara considering how grand it looked.

When she showed him a certain picture, Gaara shook his head and scoffed, realising exactly why she was so set on the place. In the condo, Sakura would have her own dressing room filled with mirrors and other girly, makeup things that had him rolling his eyes. Whilst Sakura wasn't all that vain, she did like to make sure that she looked her best.

For him, there was a rather large office. If they got the condo, he would have his own desk that seemed to be made out of mahogany and whilst the bookshelves were currently empty, Gaara had many books that would fill the space quite easily. It would be a great place for him to be able to work some days from home and that way, he could still spend time with Sakura.

The bathroom was almost ridiculously large, holding a toilet, a shower, a counter that went from one wall to another and looked a little like the one in Sakura's dressing room (although this one held a sink as well as a mirror hanging on the wall above it) and a bathtub that looked big enough to fit at least four people in it. In fact, it looked more like a hot tub, if you asked Gaara. The flooring looked like marble, matching the dark, marble–looking walls and the ceiling held many spotlights that shone down on different parts of the bathroom.

It looked like a place a celebrity would live in and even though when he took over the company, he would technically _be_ one, it still caused Gaara to frown as he looked up at Sakura. "Will we be able to afford such a place by ourselves?"

She shrugged and gave him another hesitant smile. "My parents both said that they'll support me no matter what because I just can't stay in that house anymore and if I manage to pass my exams and become a real psychiatrist, Tsunade–sama said that I'll be given a job there. It pays well and don't forget, you're going to be vice president of the Sabaku Corporation and soon, you'll be the president of it. We'll have more than enough money. It might be a little tough getting used to everything, like living together and whatnot, but we already spend so much time together. I mean, I'm always over here at your place, so what's the difference? At least this way, we can have some real privacy and not have to worry about someone walking in on us." As she said her last sentence, her lips were ghosting over his, teasing him with how close she was and just as Gaara leaned forward to kiss her, Sakura pulled back with an impish smirk. "So what do you say? Can we go for it?"

"You're not worried that people will think we're moving too fast?"

Sakura shook her head. "We've been together for like, what, six or seven months? And not to mention that it feels like we've been together for so much longer." Her hand found its way to the back of Gaara's head, bringing his face closer to her own. "We've been through so much together already, Gaara. Living together is nothing. Besides, I couldn't care less what anybody else has to say about it. This is our decision and nobody else's."

He couldn't agree more.

It was with that thought that he closed the distance between them, that he kissed her with such intensity that it had Sakura shifting in her position, had her dragging one leg over his so that she was now straddling him. As he nibbled on her lower lip, Sakura couldn't help but let out a low moan, especially as she felt him growing more aroused by the second, especially as his hands moved to her hips and brought her as close to him as he possibly could.

Things were once again heating up between them and they were so very glad for that.

"Sakura?" Gaara groaned against her lips, his hold tightening on her hips as he rolled his up against hers, grinding his erection into her.

Her eyes drifted close as she let out a soft sounding sigh. "Yeah." she whispered, knowing exactly what he was asking for. "Yes!"

Hiking her dress up around her waist, Gaara watched Sakura as she worked on the buttons and zipper of his pants, as she, between kisses, stared into his eyes with such intensity that it made his heart skip a beat. The strain of his pants and underwear was suddenly gone as Sakura pulled them down just enough to free him. She held him in her hand for a moment, stroking him, and Gaara pushed her underwear to the side as she captured his lips in yet another heated kiss before guiding him to her entrance.

When he entered her, her mouth fell open, a breathless gasp escaped her and her eyes fluttered closed. Would she ever get used to feeling this way around Gaara? Oh God she hoped not! Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned down to press her lips to his, but not long after, they parted as Sakura moved her hips. The feeling of him moving inside of her, of his lips descending to her neck and collarbone, of his hands stroking her hips and lower–back… Sakura couldn't even find the words. Amazing seemed to be an understatement, as did anything else she thought of.

Throwing her head back and exposing more of her neck, Gaara took advantage of it and ran heated kisses up and down her throat, revelling in the way she shivered against him, in the way she leaned back, her hands dropping behind her to his thighs as she used them as leverage, her hips moving slightly faster against his.

Previously, when they had been building up to this level of intimacy, Gaara had thought that she would have preferred sex to be faster, harder, maybe even a little bit rough. Right now, however, Sakura seemed content with going slowly, with savouring every moment between them and making it last. The fact that she was in total control since she was sat on his lap was a strange sensation. Never before would Gaara have thought that he would allow somebody to dominate–

No, Sakura wasn't dominating him. She was making love to him, _with him_.

She raised her arms up for a second and seeing what she wanted, Gaara pulled at her dress until it was being thrown carelessly to the floor. Moving his hands to her rear, he lifted her up and down his length, helping her as her thrusts began to move out of time. As her breathing grew harsh and she threw her head back, moaning, Gaara's mouth descended to her breasts, making her arch and gasp as he kissed them sensually before making his way back up to her lips.

Leaning back for a moment, Sakura unclasped her bra with shaking hands and soon enough, it joined her dress on the floor. So that she wasn't the only one pretty much naked, Sakura moved her hands to Gaara's shirt, making sure to be careful as she stopped all movement to remove it. Once it was gone, her eyes fell to his shoulder a second before she was pressing her lips to it. Sure, the scar was on the back of his shoulder and she was kissing the front, but the meaning wasn't lost to Gaara.

He smiled softly as his hands moved to her hips once more, lifting her off his length and for a moment or two, Sakura was confused as she stood up, but the confusion vanished as Gaara kissed her stomach, hips and breasts, as his hands found her underwear so that they would be completely removed. They dropped around her feet and once she had stepped out of them, he pulled Sakura closer, continuing with his tender kisses whilst he removed his own pants and underwear.

As soon as they were gone, he grabbed Sakura's waist, gently pulling her onto the sofa before he was lowering her against it and climbing on top of her. She was panting for breath by the time his lips reached hers and Gaara wasn't much better. It hurt a little as he used his elbows to keep himself hovering over her, but the pain was forgotten as he once again slipped his length into her heat.

Sakura looked up at the boy, no, the man above her and couldn't help how she smiled, how her eyes softened and how she stroked his cheek tenderly before her hand was running through his hair. The feeling that would fill her whenever he locked gazes with her returned tenfold and Sakura was certain that she would never get used to his intense, icy blue eyes. She didn't want to. In fact, Sakura hoped that they would always have this effect on her.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, her hips rolling against his, encouraging him to continue. And he did so. Unlike earlier, his thrusts were much slower and more gentle, both content with simply rocking together. Sakura would have thought that staring into somebody's eyes whilst having sex would be awkward, but it wasn't. It seemed to deepen the feeling between them, it made the pleasure and their emotions intensify.

Feeling her walls clamping around his length, Gaara sighed in pleasure and quickened his pace. His hand stroked her side softly, his uninjured arm being used to keep himself from crushing her. However, after a while, Gaara had to lean back until he was on his knees. It was still a strain on his body to be keeping his own weight lifted by his arms for certain amounts of time.

As he continued his thrusts, Sakura's thighs tightened their hold around his waist, trembling as she was overwhelmed by pleasure, but Gaara simply spread her legs out wider and stroked deeper. She felt like she was losing her mind! And when he looked into her eyes again… Oh God. There were no words in her mind to describe what his eyes did to her, how they made her feel.

Lifting her hands over her head and grabbing onto the arm of the sofa, she watched as Gaara pulled her hips impossibly closer before he leaned back on his hands so that they could both see the sight of them being connected, being made into one. Was it wrong of her to be even more turned on by the sight? He quickened his thrusts as one arm wrapped around her thigh with his hand holding her in place, his hips slapping into hers and making her body jerk, making her breasts bounce, with each thrust.

It wasn't long until her orgasm claimed her, but unlike every other time together, Gaara didn't climax with her. No, he helped her ride out her orgasm and kept going. As he did, Sakura noticed that his arm twitched ever so slightly and even though he showed no signs of pain, she knew he had to be feeling at least a small amount of it.

So, once her orgasm had slowly subsided, Sakura sat up and gently pushed Gaara back, her hands holding him delicately as she lowered him onto the sofa, as she adjusted her position of straddling his hips before her hands rested just above his shoulders on the cushion. Her body was still trembling from her orgasm as she rolled her hips against his, as she switched between grinding into his hips and lifting herself up and down his length.

Gaara's hands explored her body, taking in every curve, every mark, every scar and every imperfection. That was what made Sakura so beautiful to him. She wasn't perfect. She was real. There was a barely even noticeable scar where she had had her belly button pierced. There was a small freckle on her side, a couple of inches away from her right breast as well as one on her stomach. There were a couple of scars on her hands – most likely from fighting – and there was a scar on her hip from a time back when she was a child, when she had been playing with Naruto and Sasuke when she tripped and cut up her side. However, the two scars that stood out the most to him, were the ones right by his head, the scars on her wrists.

They had always caught his attention, always brought him a mixture of different feelings ranging from happiness that she was still there with him, sadness and pain that she had once felt so alone that death seemed like the only escape. Then, there was a stronger feeling, one that was determination, affection and love all rolled into one. No matter what, Gaara would always be there to protect her, to keep her safe and remind her every day that she wasn't alone.

And this time, as Sakura brought herself to climax once more, he joined her, the both of them breathing heavily and moaning against each other's lips before he captured hers in a scorching kiss, one that allowed her to feel Gaara's emotions and feelings as though they were her own and, in response, she gave him her feelings and emotions. That was how their relationship worked. There was no simply taking, nor was there only giving. It worked both ways. You give as much as you take.

Sakura collapsed on top of him, though favoured his left side more so than the right just in case she hurt him. It didn't go unnoticed by her how Gaara winced as he lifted his arm to grab the throw and it was obvious that he had tried his hardest to hide it. Without saying a word, Sakura beat him to it, grabbing the throw and covering their bodies with it.

"I already told you, Gaara." she whispered as she rested her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart slowing back to its usual steady pace. "Now, it's _my_ turn to look after _you_."

Another soft smile graced his lips as he closed his eyes. He quite liked the sound of that, of Sakura looking after him. "Very well."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Only a short chapter this week, though I'll make up for it next week with the last chapter! I promise.**

**Um, I didn't get into that college. Even though the week before they were telling me that I might not have the grades to get into the course, when I actually went to enrol, they told me they stopped the course altogether. Oh God I thought my mum was going to murder them all! She was all like "I was there when you told her about" blah, blah, blah. And then there was "What sort of college is this to mess with people's hopes like that?" Proper going mental at them. Bless her.**

**It probably sounds weird that I'm eighteen and my mum still goes everywhere with me, doesn't it? Meh. I'm not really good with speaking to people in person. I go all awkward and quiet and one time, I had to speak in front of an entire class and I ended up like Hinata. I couldn't speak and I went red and when I did speak, I was quiet and stuttering. Sigh.**

**GOOD NEWS THOUGH! Yesterday I got a call from a different college and they said that if I go in on Thursday, they can offer me a late enrolment. According to them, they've had a lot of students going to them with the exact same problem. I think they've opened up another few classes because of it. I'm so excited!**

**My brother and his girlfriend are staying over. Again. It's not that I don't like them, because when he's not around his girlfriend, my brother can be one of the nicest people you've ever met! But when he's with her, it's just... bleurgh. PDA. I went downstairs last night to get something to eat and she was laying on top of him and they were making out like they were horny teenagers. He's thirty. Have no idea how old she is because I honestly can't stand her.**

**Anyways. Enough about those two losers!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**

**OMG. Next week is **the last chapter**. I'm sad. :'(**


	70. So Much For My Happy Ending

**Chapter ****70 – ****So Much For My Happy Ending**

Surprisingly, not a lot of people were surprised by their decision. Kankuro even seemed relieved, but that was probably because he walked in on them when they were in the living room, when they had been taking advantage of the fact that the heat between them was back and even hotter than ever. However, despite being scarred for life because of seeing not only Sakura naked, but also Gaara (and the fact that they were having sex), Kankuro had helped them out when Temari returned and demanded to know why the living room smelled like sex. After all, she had warned both Sakura and Gaara that the only room they were to do it in, was his bedroom. No, he didn't cover for them, but he gave them some advice on what to use to clean the sofa and throw. It would have worked if Temari had stayed away long enough for the smell to drift out of the window.

Sakura was certain that Kankuro was tired of either catching them having sex, or hearing them do it. It often made breakfast in the morning pretty awkward.

She had yet to tell everyone that she and Gaara would be moving in together. However, Sasuke was the fifth person she told. For some reason, it felt wrong having him find out through somebody else and she wanted it to come from her personally, so it didn't shock or hurt him as badly. The first two to be told were her parents and the next were Temari and Kankuro. Then after Sasuke, was Itachi and Naruto. They were all supportive of their decision, helping out with whatever they could. Once Naruto had told his parents, they had come over with house warming gifts and not long after them, her parents, Gaara's siblings, the Uchiha brothers and Naruto did, too. Even Shisui, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune, Genma and Jiraiya had swung by to wish them luck.

Oh, they got the condo the moment they applied for it and went to go and view it. Once the landlord discovered who Gaara was, he let them have it without any trouble. Wasn't he supposed to do background checks? It didn't matter. They had a guarantor just in case they couldn't come up with the rent. When they had gone to visit the condo with her parents and Gaara's siblings, Sakura had fallen more and more in love with it, as had Temari and Mebuki. Her father believed she was being too materialistic, to which Sakura had given him a disappointed stare before shaking her head and walking away, tsking at him as she did so. It made him stand there for a moment, blinking in surprise and wondering just what the hell had gotten into his daughter and why she was suddenly acting like _she_ was the parent.

Together, they had gone through Gaara's belongings, sorting through what could stay in his old bedroom and what would be coming with them. Sakura had asked him if he wanted to have any of the pictures in the photo album his mother left for him enlarged and placed in the living room or his office, perhaps even the bedroom, as she would most likely have a few of her parents scattered around their new home. It had surprised her when he practically tackled her to the ground and kissed her, saying without words that he thought it was a great idea.

All that was left now, were her things. Not the ones at the Sabaku's home, as they were already packed and at the condo along with Gaara's stuff. She meant the ones in her old bedroom. Gaara had offered to help her, but he had suddenly been called into a last minute meeting. If it all went well today, then Gaara would be the Vice President of Sabaku Corporation by the end of this month. They were all so proud of him.

Instead, Sakura had invited Hinata and Ino over. The former because she kept her calm and the latter because… Well, she was a great help when it came to clothes and things such as those. So right now, they were all in her old bedroom. Sakura had put music on to help keep the bad memories away whilst they packed. Hinata was sorting through the DVDs and Ino was doing whatever the hell she had been doing for the past twenty minutes in her wardrobe.

"I can't believe you're moving in with him!" Ino gasped from inside the wardrobe.

Helping put her movies and music into boxes, Hinata looked up to Sakura with a shy smile, pushing a strand of her now mid–length hair behind her ear. "I was a little shocked, too, when you told me."

There wasn't much left to pack, just the last of her clothes, the things on her shelves, whatever else she needed… Okay, so there was a lot left to pack, but so what? Just as long as it was all packed and ready to go by tonight, then it was okay. Besides, it wasn't like Sakura would never be returning. Despite the bad memories, there had also been some good ones in this place. It had been her home! Now, however, Sakura was ready to have a home of her own, one where she could create new memories with Gaara.

"So who asked?" Ino practically begged to know the details as she walked out of Sakura's wardrobe, her arms filled with a gigantic pile of clothes that went way over her head. Sakura and Hinata watched in awe as the blonde seemed to find her way over to Sakura's bed without a problem before dumping the clothes on it. "Did he ask you?"

Sakura shook her head, smiling to herself as she continued packing. "No, actually, I asked him."

"You did?" the blonde stood there with her mouth wide open. "So it wasn't Gaara's idea?"

"He was just as shocked as you two," Sakura told them before adding, "well, at first he was."

Hinata smiled softly, her eyes looking warm with just the thought of love. The girl was a hopeless romantic. "How did he react?"

Sakura looked down at the CD case in her hands and couldn't help but smile. It was one of Gaara's favourite albums by Three Days Grace. She hadn't gotten around to listening to it yet or putting it onto her new laptop, as it had been left here and she had been at his place when she got the laptop. But it didn't matter now. They were moving in together! "At first he was a little unsure, but when he saw how excited I was, it was like he couldn't say no!" Sakura said softly, a dreamy smile on her lips. "Then, he smiled and said we should do it."

"_Do it_, eh?" Ino smirked, giving Hinata a knowing look which left the Hyuuga blushing madly.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura placed the album into a box before continuing with her packing. "I didn't mean sex, pig! Although," she sent a sultry smile over in the blonde's direction, delighting in the way both Hinata _and _Ino blushed, "we still had mad hot sex after."

Ino let out a whoosh of air, fanning herself as though to cool down. "Damn, Sakura! With _that_ look, I think Gaara will agree to anything you say."

Even Hinata nodded, seeming a little flustered. "I–It was… um… v–very–"

"Seductive? Sultry?" Sakura offered, not appearing all that bothered by their reactions, although inside, she was grinning. It wasn't every day that you could get such a reaction out of Yamanaka Ino.

"Yeah." Ino breathed. "If I was a guy, I'd totally bone you."

"Ino–san!" Hinata practically shrieked, her face taking on an unhealthy looking shade of red before she fainted.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Oi, Hinata! Get a hold of yourself."

* * *

><p>Later that night, once everything was packed and had been delivered, Sakura found herself relaxing in Gaara's arms on the sofa, both laying on their sides and watching lazily as Ao moved around his new home, sniffing here and there to get used to it. Once he was certain there wasn't anything left to see, he made his way over to his bed and collapsed on top of it with a huff.<p>

Oh that dog was spoiled!

"We should start unpacking tomorrow." Sakura stated as she turned to face Gaara and pressed a soft kiss against his neck. "I'm too tired to do anything else right now. I feel like I've been on my feet all day!"

He understood the feeling. After finishing up at the meeting, Gaara had made his way straight to the condo and was just in time to see the delivery van pulling up. Along with Naruto (who was the one driving the van), Ino and Hinata, he had given Sakura a hand with moving all of her belongings up to their apartment. When Gaara had first seen how much she had packed, he had been utterly shocked, wondering just what the hell she had in there. But a moment later, he remembered how large her old bedroom was and how full it had been with many different items. It was mostly DVDs, books, clothes and shoes, so it wasn't too bad, he supposed. Also, something that he was very happy about, Sakura had brought her bed. Apparently she just couldn't part with it. Neither could he. It had been difficult getting it up into their condo, but between himself, Naruto, Ino and Sakura (who was surprisingly, _freakishly_ strong), they managed to do it. It was a good job the therapy for his shoulder had been working, otherwise he'd be unable to move it right now.

Mebuki had given them bags filled with groceries when she dropped by not too long ago to see how they were doing as well as giving them the dinner she had cooked for them (apparently she wanted them to relax on their first night in their new home, which meant no cooking and barely any cleaning). Sakura had rolled her eyes, saying that she didn't need to be checked up on, to which Mebuki had shaken her head and given her a lecture. After everybody had left and they had eaten their dinner, they collected Ao and had taken him out for a walk before returning and all but collapsing onto the comfortable leather sofa, which was where they were right at that moment in time.

Gaara drew patterns on her side, his hand slightly under her shirt so that he could do so. "It's been a busy day."

"Yeah." she whispered, snuggling closer to him and burying her face into his neck. "Can you even be bothered to get up and move to the bedroom? I don't think I can."

He smirked at her laziness and in an instant, Sakura was shocked to find herself being lifted and carried throughout their new home. A second later, though, when they reached their bedroom, a giggle escaped her as Gaara captured her lips in a hungry, passionate kiss.

Her exhaustion was forgotten immediately as they stumbled into their bedroom.

Living together was going to be amazing.

* * *

><p>"What is it, Itachi?"<p>

Looking up, Itachi made sure to keep eye contact with the man at the head of the table. Whilst he didn't seem too much of a threat, what with his red hair, purple eyes and wiry stature, Itachi knew better. He also knew not to show fear or worry or any other sort of emotions around this man, not unless he wanted to either make a fool of himself or have someone who was highly respected and dangerous know what his weaknesses were. However, sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I must ask a favour of you, Leader–sama."

Leader raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side and as he did, the others sitting around the table all looked at Itachi with wide eyes. Nobody_ ever _asked Leader for a favour, it was always the other way around. Well, Leader didn't ask favours, you did as he told you to and that was that.

When he nodded once, Itachi continued. "Orochimaru and his followers have become a problem for me and my siblings. I would have dealt with him myself by now, but he has gone into hiding and is sending out his men to do his dirty work." There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "I need to ask for the help of Akatsuki."

A blond man looked at Itachi with a single, startlingly blue eye. The other was hidden by his bangs. "You have more than one sibling? I thought there was only your brother?"

Again, there was a brief pause as Itachi considered ignoring the blond, since he had never particularly liked him, before Leader spoke again. "Answer Deidara–san's question, Itachi–san. I would also like to know."

"Though we are not biologically related, we were raised together so I consider this girl as my sister." It took everything in him for Itachi not to scan the faces in the room as he felt their curious and shocked stares on his face. "I'm sure you have all heard about Yakushi Kabuto."

This time when Deidara spoke up, his voice was even more shocked than his expression. "That creep who raped some girl in the woods and then attacked her again in her–" he quickly closed his mouth before speaking again. "_That_ is the girl you think of as your sister?"

Itachi didn't answer Deidara, but his eyes hardened as a murderous intent filled the air. Keeping his eyes locked on Leader's, he spoke in a barely restrained voice, once again surprising everyone with his inability to control his emotions better. It was so unlike him. "So you see my problem, Leader–sama."

"Orochimaru isn't going to be happy that his favourite subordinate is locked away for life." A red haired man spoke calmly from the other end of the table, his lifeless brown eyes boring into Itachi's as the latter looked over at him. "He will do whatever he can to break Kabuto out as well as the others who were also arrested, although they are not as important to him as Kabuto."

Deidara nodded, seeming thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "Sasori no Danna is right, yeah. And if he's already had a go of–"

"Do not speak of Sakura in such a way." Itachi muttered darkly and immediately, Deidara shut up. His fists were clenched underneath the table but after a couple of moments, he took a deep, calming breath. "I already know that Orochimaru will want revenge for what has happened and not only does he want Sakura, but he also wants my younger brother, Sasuke."

A blue skinned man chuckled. "What does he want with that little shit?"

Instead of ignoring him, Itachi tilted his head to the side and regarded the shark–like man. Though he was older than himself, they had gone to college together and knew each other quite well, which meant he also knew Sasuke. Not only Sasuke, but also Naruto as he had, on several occasions, fallen victim to their pranks. His skin had a strange blue tint to it, but Itachi had discovered not too long after meeting Kisame that the man had a rare disease of some sort that caused him to look like a shark. "I'm not entirely sure why he wants Sasuke, Kisame–san, but I do know that Orochimaru approached him and asked for Sasuke to take control of the company and join him."

They all exchanged looks of surprise and disgust since they knew exactly how Orochimaru wanted Sasuke to 'take control' of the company.

Raising an eyebrow, Deidara asked, "And what was Sasuke's answer, yeah?"

"He has told me that he declined the offer," Itachi answered calmly, but they could all notice the stress that was steadily building, "but my younger brother is foolish and if he believes that going with Orochimaru will make him stronger, _better_, he _will _go." Their father had pushed him way too hard, had compared him to Itachi way too much. It was part of the reason why Itachi had offered Sasuke half of the Uchiha Company.

Sasori sighed, but whether it was wistfully or out of annoyance, they could never really tell. "It's amazing the lengths we go through to protect our loved ones. Even if Akatsuki as a whole will not help you, Itachi, I will. As it just so happens, I am distantly related to the Sabaku siblings, so I have a score to settle with Kabuto and Orochimaru. However, do not mistake this as an act of kindness. Even if I was not related to them, Orochimaru and Kabuto are still on my hit–list. This is merely me taking advantage of this opportunity to strike."

A blue haired woman nodded softly, her usually emotionless features filled with empathy. "I will help, too." she told Itachi in a soft voice before adding even more quietly, "And I hope that your sister is doing okay."

The woman, Konan, was also a victim of rape and abuse. If it hadn't been for Leader and Akatsuki, she would still be a victim, would still be in that dark place.

Itachi nodded once. "Both Sakura and Gaara–kun are doing better, though Sakura's illness makes it harder for her to cope."

"Illness?" Deidara frowned. When he had seen her on the news, she hadn't looked ill to him and they hadn't mentioned any illnesses. "What's up with her, yeah? Is she sick or something?"

Being pushed to answer the question by Leader once again, Itachi inwardly sighed. "Sakura suffers from bipolar disorder and is suicidal. The past couple of years have been the hardest of her life so far."

There was silence for a couple of moments before Leader spoke. "There is so much suffering and hatred in this world." His tone was empty and devoid of any feelings, but they could all tell that he was angered. It was in the hardness of his eyes and the aura surrounding him. "How old is your sister?"

"Sakura is eighteen now." Itachi spoke calmly, but they could see the anger in his eyes. "She was sixteen when she was first attacked."

Deidara's upper lip curled with disgust. "She's still just a kid, yeah! That Kabuto has to be at least thirty by now. Creepy bastard!"

Many thought that Akatsuki were the bad guys. Yes, they had done and still do questionable things, but in the end, it was for the best. If you weren't on their bad side, then you had nothing to worry about. However, if you _were_ on their bad side… Well, it was safe to say that it would be best to disappear for a _long _while. Each of them had joined Akatsuki for many different reasons. Some joined for protection, others joined to help make their city, their world, a better place by ridding it of evil. In some ways, they were like one great, dysfunctional family.

Leader was silent for a couple of moments as he thought back on the times when he had been younger, when he had had to be a witness to many vile and unforgivable things. His eyes unnoticeably slid over to the only female of their group, Konan. Like Sakura was to Itachi, Konan was very much like a sister to him and he had vowed to protect her to his best friend, her deceased lover, Yahiko. If he were in Itachi's shoes, Leader knew that he would be grateful for any help he could get. Like Itachi, Leader was a proud man who didn't particularly like having to ask for help.

"Yakushi Kabuto is in Konoha Prison, is he not?" When Itachi nodded once, Leader continued. "Two of Akatsuki's members are also there, Kakuzu–san and Hidan–san. Konan will visit them next week to give them their newest mission to keep an eye on Orochimaru's subordinates, however I cannot guarantee that they will not attack Kabuto once they discover who he is and what he has done." In other words, he couldn't guarantee that Kabuto would survive much longer. They may not care for others, but even Hidan and Kakuzu had their honour. Raping young, vulnerable girls was repulsive and unforgivable even to them – and they were the most unstable in Akatsuki. They were the type to kill without batting an eyelid, without it haunting them. "On the outside, Sasori–san and Deidara–san will keep an eye on Sakura–san and Gaara–san, since Sasori–san is related to Gaara–san."

Itachi nodded once before speaking. "We cannot allow Sakura to know that she is being watched. If she finds out, there is no doubt she will lash out. Gaara–kun is more likely to stay silent if it is to keep her safe, although he apparently does not keep anything from Sakura."

There was a soft smile on Konan's face as she looked down at her ring finger. Ah, true love. What she wouldn't give to have Yahiko by her side once more. What she wouldn't give to be able to spend the rest of her life with him, have him grow old with her and retire to a peaceful life, a life free of pain and hatred. There was nothing she wanted more than to have him grey haired by her side, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. Sadly, people didn't always get what they wanted. With that thought, she looked back up at the others sitting around the table, her emotionless eyes going straight to Leader.

"Very well." Leader nodded, understanding that some things just couldn't be helped, especially if the girl was mentally ill. "What else is there to know about Sakura–san and Gaara–san?"

Telling them everything he knew, Itachi watched each of their expressions carefully and kept certain pieces of information to himself, for whilst he trusted some of these men, not all of them were one hundred percent trustworthy. He explained how Sakura would be going to the college in Konoha this coming fall whilst also studying under Senju Tsunade and how Gaara was being prepared for taking over the Sabaku Corporation.

Once again, Leader nodded. "It is settled. Starting from today, Sakura–san, Gaara–san and Sasuke–san will all unknowingly be under the protection of the Akatsuki. Deidara–san, you will move to the same apartment building, preferably on the same level so that you will be close to them if anything happens. Sasori–san, you will also be living there with Deidara–san. The both of you will befriend Sakura–san and Gaara–san. As for the rest of us, we will remain in the shadows. When Orochimaru next reveals himself, we will know."

And he would pay dearly for the pain he had caused.

Leader would see to that himself.

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN – To the person who reviewed saying you're glad this 'fake SasuSaku' story is over (**_i've been waiting for this fake sasusaku story o end and i hope it doesn't have a sequel_**), I only have one thing to say to you. Well, three.**

**There **_**will**_** be a sequel.**

**If you hate my story so much, don't read it.**

**And...**

**This 'fake SasuSaku' story received over seven hundred reviews, so fuck you! Hahahah!**

**Sorry to everyone else. I'm in a really good mood! I GOT IN! I went for my interview at the college today and they said they'll let me in, though I'll be there for three years instead of two. That doesn't matter to me. I'm just so excited! Which is why I updated today instead of next week. :-D**

**Like I said, there's going to be a sequel! I've been planning it for so long now (before I even finished this story) and already, I have around eleven of the chapters written. It won't be anywhere near as long as this one.**

**To those of you who are interested in the sequel (which will be called **_Until It Was Too Late_**), here's the summary!**

**"**_H__er life had never been easy to say the least, but what will happen when both new and old enemies show up? Will she lose everyone she loves, or will Sakura be able to stop them before that happens?_**"**

**It's like a continuation of this story (like part two), because otherwise it would have been around one hundred and something chapters long. Did you see what I did with the name? **_They Never Knew_ **and **_Until It Was Too Late_**! I was kind of proud of myself for that one.**

**Anyways! I said before that updates won't be very often, although I'm not too sure. I'll be getting my timetable next Friday and once I do, I'm applying for a job, as well. Whenever I get the chance, I promise that I'll update! :-)**

**So what do you all think about there being a sequel? I wasn't too sure about it at first, thinking that I might be dragging the story out too long, but it's coming along well and it's definitely going to be explosive.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS STORY AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


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